Shades of Gray
by niteryde
Summary: Three years after the Cell games and his father's death, Gohan is having a hard time, physically and emotionally. Bulma decides to ask her husband to help... will her plan work or will Vegeta's involvement only make things worse? Some BV.
1. Unexpected visit

**A/N: Just to get it out there right now – this isn't a "pairing" of Gohan and Vegeta. Not that there's anything wrong with those stories, but I love Bulma/Vegeta way too much for all that. **

**Anyways. Thanks for reading and hope you like. :)  
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The Saiyan prince massaged one of his temples, looking at his mate with a mixture of agitation and annoyance as he wondered if the universe hated him. Why else would these ridiculous situations always come up?

"Please?"

"No."

"Vegeta…"

"I absolutely refuse," he stated bluntly as Bulma glared at him over the dining table, that look in her eye. He knew that look very, very well, and he wisely looked away, his jaw stubbornly set. He continued rubbing his temple, his elbow propped on the table, that familiar scowl on his face. "Do _not_ ask me again, woman," he growled.

"Vegeta, come _on_," Bulma sighed with frustration. She looked away from her husband to glance over at the four-year-old lavender-haired boy sitting next to her who was currently stuffing food into his mouth at frightening speed, happily ignoring his parents' conversation. "Trunks! Eating isn't a race, you know!" she snapped, making the boy give her a startled, then sheepish look. "Slow down, mister," she warned.

"But Mama," Trunks said with a mouth full of food as he pouted.

"Mind your mother, boy," Vegeta said harshly, "And swallow your food before you speak. I won't have my son eating like some Neanderthal clown." Trunks immediately closed his mouth and dropped his eyes to his plate, notably slowing down as he continued eating his lunch. He had no clue what a Neanderthal was, but he knew better than to disobey his father whenever he spoke with that tone. Vegeta then turned his eyes to Bulma. "Woman, stop interrupting my training to ask me questions you already know the answers to."

"I just don't understand why you won't-" she stopped speaking when Vegeta sighed and stood up. Bulma growled and stood up as well when she saw that he was heading out of the dining room altogether. "Where do you think you're going! We're having a discussion here!" she yelled, giving Trunks a quick look before heading off after her stubborn husband.

Vegeta snorted, not turning around, though he could feel her following him as he headed outside towards the gravity room. "Yes, the same one we had yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before _that_. I am tired of this subject. My answer won't change. Save your breath already."

"Vegeta, _please,_" she said, reaching out and grabbing his hand from behind. He stopped walking but didn't turn back to look at her. She walked around him so she was standing in front of him. He averted his gaze, looking off to the side. "Chi-Chi can't control him, he's acting out a lot more lately, and he needs someone to just, talk to him-"

"I didn't realize I was a psychologist," he said sarcastically.

"No, you're not, but you're the only one on the entire planet who has the slightest idea of what it's like for a Saiyan boy to go through puberty," she pointed out, reaching out and taking his other hand in hers as well. "You're the only one who can actually help rein him in." She lightly squeezed his hands.

Finally, the prince turned and settled his eyes on her. His dark eyes scanned her blue ones for a while, before his scowl deepened. "This is Kakarot's job, not mine," he told her bitterly. "It's not my fault that the useless clown decided not to return to his woman and his brats."

"It's not Gohan's fault either," Bulma told him. He growled and shook his head, looking off to the side again. Bulma let go of his hands as she stepped closer to him. She put her hands on his chest and he sighed. "You can help him, Vegeta. He's just a boy, he needs a male figure in his life that he can respect. Sure, he has Piccolo and Roshi and his grandfather and Krillin, but not one of them knows what it's like to be a Saiyan teenager. Please, will you be there for him? For me?"

Vegeta closed his eyes, falling into thought, his face void of emotion. Bulma watched him, her blue eyes filled with anticipation. She had gotten very good over the years at reading his eyes to get a very accurate gauge on how he was feeling, so now she just had to wait to see. "Woman," the Saiyan prince finally exhaled. He opened his eyes and she saw his self-doubt reflected in them. It was a look that only she and she alone was ever allowed to see. "You know that I am making an effort with our son…"

"I know, and you're doing great," she told him genuinely, giving him a smile.

He returned it with a scowl. "Kakarot's woman always brings his youngest spawn here and I have to deal with that already, and now you want me to take a more active role in the life of his oldest… Bulma…" he breathed, the exasperation now clear in his voice and his eyes wary as she studied him. Damn, he hated that she could read him so easily. "Having one son is enough for me. I have no interest in adopting two more."

"Oh Vegeta, this isn't about you adopting them," Bulma told him gently, putting her arms around his neck. He instinctively put an arm around her waist, pulling her closer as he sighed again. "I know they're not our sons. And I know that it's not your responsibility to be their father. That's not what I'm asking you. This isn't even about Goten – though for the record, your patience with him is incredible."

Vegeta grunted and rolled his eyes. "Only because I would rather not traumatize my child by blasting his idiot playmate into oblivion."

Bulma laughed, "You wouldn't."

"Hn. Maybe when mini Kakarot is older."

"Anyways, this isn't about Goten. It's about Gohan," she told him. He shook his head, scowling again, though she could tell from the way his eyes had softened that he was about to relent. "Just talk to him and listen to him. Give him advice if he wants it. Maybe have a friendly spar with him if he's inclined. That's all."

"I don't even know a damn thing about the brat," he sneered, clearly disgusted with the idea.

"Maybe you can change that?"

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before grumbling, "Fine. If it'll make you stop hounding me, then fine, I will try to see what the blasted child is up to." Bulma was smiling brightly at him when he opened his eyes again. He just shook his head slightly, his eyes locked on hers. She always wore him down. She always had.

_This damn woman has made me so soft…_

"Thank you," she told him happily, leaning her forehead against his. "I love you."

He grunted before leaning in the rest of the way and capturing her lips in his, silently echoing her words through his actions. His strong hand rested on the small of her back as he held her firmly against him. Bulma sighed into the kiss with delight, her knees still going weak when she felt his warm tongue expertly exploring her mouth even though this was far from their first kiss.

Her hand was sliding up into his hair, the kiss about to spiral into something more passionate, when an indignant high-pitched voice said, "Ew! Yuck!" Bulma pulled away from Vegeta, making the Saiyan growl with displeasure. They pulled away from their embrace as they both turned to look at their son who was standing in front of them on the grass. The little boy was wearing a scowl and looking an awful lot like his father as he glared at them.

"Damn boy," Vegeta mumbled, folding his arms over his chest as Bulma smiled at her son.

"Hey you, done with lunch already?" she asked him.

"Yeah, duh," the boy said, giving a dramatic roll of his eyes, before looking over at his father who was walking away now towards the gravity chamber. Trunks bit his lip before shyly asking, "Papa?" Vegeta stopped just as he was about to walk in and looked over his shoulder at his son, silently acknowledging him. "Can we fight?"

Vegeta was surprised by the boy's eagerness. Usually he only trained him for a few hours in the mornings and for one more at night before bedtime. Enough to simultaneously teach his son how to fight, and also allow himself to train alone under more vigorous conditions so he could grow even stronger. The prince smirked and nodded, pride filling his chest as he turned back around, walking on inside into the gravity room. Trunks gave a cry of joy and tore off running after his father as Bulma watched, shaking her head and rolling her eyes even though she smiled.

"Keep the gravity under 50!" she yelled out as the door closed after Trunks.

Vegeta heard her and rolled his own eyes as he turned to face his son, not bothering to activate the gravity simulator. The prince crossed his arms and stared hard at the boy, and blinked in surprise when Trunks crossed his arms over his own chest and stared right back. The two stared at each other for a while, before Vegeta smirked.

"Ready, boy?" he asked, getting into his fight stance. He watched as Trunks resumed his own stance, looking more like a seasoned martial arts veteran than a small four-year-old boy. Vegeta felt that familiar surge of pride at the look in his son's eyes. Yes, through it all, he was proud of his son.

Which only made Kakarot's decision all the more confusing to him. He had thought about it, analyzed it, talked about it, thought more about it, and the prince just could not understand the other full-blooded Saiyan's decision to not come back to life. He couldn't wrap his head around how someone who supposedly cherished life would miss out on the life of Gohan, his own son, as he went from a boy to a man. Goten was excusable as Kakarot had clearly not known he existed at the time he made his idiotic decision, though the boy was paying now as well.

Vegeta let Trunks make the first move, resolving that he would actually give it an effort to see what was going on with Gohan.

_At least, I can keep him from turning into a clown like his father, for the good of my fallen race…  
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"I said, I'M TIRED OF STUDYING!" Gohan roared, a look of angered frustration etched into his 14-year-old features as he furiously marched up the stairs to his bedroom. An equally furious Chi-Chi was right on his heels. "Just give me a goddamned break, Mom!"

Chi-Chi gasped loudly, before her face turned red at hearing her son speak to her in that way. She was so upset and frustrated with him that she could barely sputter two words together, much less form a coherent sentence. Before she could even get the chance, Gohan had slammed the door shut to his room, practically in her face. _That _made her snap out of it.

"GOHAN, OPEN THIS DOOR IMMEDIATELY!" she shrieked as she pounded on the door as hard as she could. He had installed his own lock though the week before, behind her back, saying he needed privacy. "How DARE you speak to me in that manner! Don't you know that Goten can hear you? Do you want him to curse like you?"

"Whatever," Gohan hissed to himself, sitting down at the edge of his bed. He fell back on it and ignored his mother yelling and pounding on the door, a frown on his face. Groaning, he reached over and grabbed his pillow, before pulling it over his face. He held it there until finally, he heard his three-year-old brother crying in the room he shared with Chi-Chi. Just like that, she left him in peace to go see to Goten.

Gohan laid there for a few more minutes, before standing up and starting to pace in his room like a caged animal. He clenched and unclenched his fists, a tight feeling in his chest. He didn't know why that feeling was there, couldn't place it at all, but it was driving the boy mad. Over the last few months, he had been more agitated than usual. Four months ago he would have never yelled back at his mother.

_What is wrong with me? _he wondered, stopping his pacing to gaze down at his hands, as if the answer was going to be etched there. He clenched his fists, a ball of anger and frustration bubbling up inside of him, causing his power level to rise against his will. Not for the first time, the teenager felt a pang of hurt practically level him at the thought that he could really use a talk with his dad right now…

Chi-Chi had forgotten her confrontation with her oldest son and now found herself chasing Goten around outside in front of their home. She wasn't playing with the boy; he had bolted out of the bath when she wasn't looking. Soaking wet and buck naked, the little boy was dashing across the grass, laughing hysterically as Chi-Chi tried desperately to catch him.

"GOTEN!" she yelled, panting. "GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW, YOUNG MAN!"

"Race!" the boy yelled back as Chi-Chi finally stopped running.

She watched as Goten ran off out of sight, feeling tears fill her eyes. Gasping for air, she slowly sank to her knees, her own frustration ready to explode as she squeezed her eyes shut. How in the world was she going to raise two half-Saiyan boys by herself? Goten was only three years old and he was already faster and stronger than her. And Gohan… tears ran down her face as she thought of her precious little boy who had practically become a stranger. He was moody now, always brooding, and she could barely say two words to him without him exploding in anger. She had known he would go through changes around this age, but she had not been expecting such a radical change and she was not equipped to handle him alone…

"Damn you, Goku," she wheezed, closing her eyes and sobbing from the frustration of it all.

"Do not waste tears on that imbecile," a rough voice said. Chi-Chi recognized the voice and opened her eyes to find Vegeta standing in front of her, wearing dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved white t-shirt with black boots. He was looking down at her, looking half annoyed and half disgusted at the sight of her crying. Chi-Chi's eyes moved to his right arm, where he was carrying a squirming Goten. Vegeta's arm was around Goten's midsection as he held the boy against his hip like he was nothing but a soccer ball. Goten looked up and gave his mother a big smile. She instinctively smiled back at him. He looked so much like his father…

"Vegeta," Chi-Chi breathed, looking up at the scowling Saiyan. "Thank you."

Vegeta grunted. "I believe _this_ belongs to you," he sneered, before letting go of Goten, resulting in the boy landing unceremoniously on the ground. Chi-Chi's face contorted in anger over him dropping her child, and she was about to let the Saiyan have it when Goten bounced right back up. He laughed and went to run away again when Vegeta snarled, "You better stay where you are, kid, or I will forbid Trunks from sharing his toys with you next time you come into my home."

Goten froze and turned, looking at Vegeta with large eyes. His chin quivered like he was going to cry, which made Vegeta snort. "Children," he grumbled, before looking at Chi-Chi who was watching this all half-amazed. "What are you looking at!" the prince snapped, irritated.

"I… it's just, I didn't realize he listened to you," she said hesitantly, before wiping her tears away as she stood up. She dusted herself off as Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Your brat is not a fool like the idiot who fathered him, he knows it's in his best interest," the Saiyan prince said rather bluntly. Chi-Chi winced a little, and Vegeta sighed, feeling compelled to add more. "Trunks obeys me so it's only natural that your youngest does as well," Vegeta said, crossing his arms over his chest and bracing for a verbal assault, eyeing the woman before him carefully.

He had never liked Kakarot's mate. She was extremely loud and abrasive. Granted, he had thought Bulma was the same way when he came back to Earth after Namek, but Bulma antagonized him to challenge him. When Bulma got in his face, he wanted to take her to bed immediately; when Chi-Chi got in his face, he wanted to decapitate her.

Vegeta's eyes narrowed suspiciously when she didn't lay into him. She just gave him a weary smile and nod instead. He noted the dark rings under her eyes as she walked over to Goten. She picked the boy up under his arms and looked over her shoulder at him.

"Do you want to come in while I get him cleaned and dressed?" Chi-Chi asked him hesitantly. She had accepted her best friend's relationship with the Prince of all Saiyans, but that didn't mean that Vegeta didn't still terrify her sometimes. He had a powerful presence that commanded respect, and his dark eyes had an intense gaze that felt like they pierced right into your soul whenever he looked at you. And not once in the six years that he had been living with Bulma had she ever seen the man smile.

He grunted and walked over, following her as they walked inside the house. Once inside, the prince's dark eyes instantly scanned his new surroundings, not interested in the humble home. He was looking for signs of the oldest Son boy and found none.

"Where is your oldest brat?" he demanded bluntly. Chi-Chi groaned at the thought of Gohan while trying to keep Goten from climbing all over her.

"In his room, if he hasn't flown off to see that green monster yet," she said bitterly. "Honestly, that boy! Anyways, I have to finish giving Goten his bath," Chi-Chi told him apologetically as Vegeta turned to look at her again. "There's tons of food in the fridge though. Please, make yourself at home."

He gave a short nod and Chi-Chi took that as him accepting her invitation. She turned and went upstairs with Goten who was now crying at the thought of having to take a bath. Vegeta waited until she was out of sight, then looked up at the ceiling. He briefly closed his eyes, trying to pick up Gohan's energy signal to see if the teenager was actually in his room.

Picking up Gohan's energy, Vegeta silently went up the stairs, trying not to draw attention to himself. But Goten had Chi-Chi completely occupied, and she was none the wiser when the Saiyan walked right past the bathroom. His eyes scanned the hallway, before he walked over to where the energy was coming from.

The prince reached up and knocked on the door.

"Leave me alone, damn it!" Gohan shouted from behind the door. Vegeta felt an eye twitch involuntarily.

_The things I do for that damn woman…_

"Open this door immediately, boy, before I break it down," Vegeta growled. There was silence on the other side of the door before he heard locks being removed. The door opened and an absolutely bewildered-looking Gohan was standing in front of him. Vegeta observed him carefully. The boy had grown and was now Vegeta's height – the Saiyan prince scowled deeply at this. His hair had grown out down to his shoulders and his eyes were bloodshot.

"Vegeta?" Gohan asked in disbelief. "What are _you _doing here?"

"Let me in, before your mother ruptures my eardrums," Vegeta grumbled. Before waiting to hear if he was invited in, the prince walked on in, bumping Gohan back in the shoulder. The teen stumbled back a step, before regaining his balance. He was too shocked to be angry though, closing the door and locking it.

He turned back to find that his unexpected visitor was standing at his window, staring out with his arms crossed over his chest, his back to him. Gohan had only seen the man on a couple of occasions since the Cell games, since Vegeta would always disappear (if he could help it) whenever there was a large gathering at Capsule Corporation. It was weird and almost unnatural to him to see Vegeta dressed like a regular guy instead of wearing his Saiyan armor.

Gohan sat down on the edge of his bed, twiddling his thumbs together awkwardly as he anxiously watched Vegeta. He knew Vegeta was on his side now, but still, this visit was most unexpected. Gohan waited for him to say something, not wanting to push him.

"You're putting a lot of unnecessary stress on your mother, boy," Vegeta finally said, not moving a muscle. Gohan winced and looked down at the floor, ashamed that the prince was right. "This puts stress on my woman, which puts stress on me. I don't like stress, kid." Finally, Vegeta turned to look at him, scowling as he scrutinized him. "I don't have the patience for this so I will just ask you once. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Gohan suddenly realized what that was going on. His mother had clearly gone to Bulma, who was forcing Vegeta to be there. They all thought there was something wrong with him. His face turned red from embarrassment over the situation, a small part of him aching to actually take up Vegeta's invitation to talk. A larger part though was furious that no one was listening to him. Honestly, how hard was it to understand that he wanted to just be left alone without anyone bothering him?

"There is nothing wrong with me," Gohan finally grumbled. Vegeta just stared at him as Gohan tried looking somewhere, anywhere but into those piercing eyes.

"Sorry, you can't bullshit a bullshitter. I've had years of lying on you, kid. Now out with it, before I beat it out of you," Vegeta finally said, cracking a smirk.

"I said it's nothing, goddamnit!" Gohan finally yelled, standing up. Vegeta blinked in surprise, raising an eyebrow as Gohan gave him a downright furious glare. He didn't know much about the boy, but he knew that he was hardly what one would call temperamental. "So why don't you mind your own fucking business?"

Vegeta lowered his arms and clenched his own fists, his body now tense as he stared at Gohan with cold eyes, "I suggest you lower your voice, boy, before I remind you of your place," he threatened in a low voice.

The fury that had rushed through the teenager left as quick as it came. He blinked, seeing Vegeta giving him a glare that he hadn't seen from the Saiyan since their days on Namek. He shook his head and sat back down on his bed. He looked back down at his hands, lowering his head in shame.

"I-I'm sorry," Gohan finally said, his voice shaky. Vegeta eyed him carefully as he slowly relaxed. "I don't know what's wrong with me."

Vegeta stared at him for a long time, not saying anything. Finally, he cleared his throat as he crossed his arms over his chest again. "When was the last time you sparred, boy?" Gohan looked surprised by the question as he looked over at him. Vegeta looked like he was studying him cautiously, his body still a little tense as if he expected a fight at any second. Gohan was confused by the behavior but instead focused on answering the question.

"I don't know, I can't remember," Gohan admitted, scratching the back of his head. "My mom hardly lets me fight."

"Well, that's going to change," Vegeta stated flatly. "Beginning tomorrow at 7 in the morning, I will expect you at Capsule Corporation every day. We will meet in the back and spar in the gravity room. Bring your brother as well, so he can entertain Trunks. I don't want to hear the brat bitching that I'm canceling our training sessions."

"Vegeta," Gohan sighed. "It's not just my mom that doesn't want me to train. I don't want to fight anymore either."

Vegeta grunted and headed towards the teenager's door. He paused momentarily at the door, turning his head to acknowledge Gohan but not looking back at him. "I don't recall asking if you wanted to come or not. You had better be there on time, unless you want to have a spar here in your home. I don't think your mother would like that very much."

Gohan frowned as the Saiyan walked out and closed the door behind him. The teen angrily clenched his fists. Who the hell did Vegeta think he was anyways, walking into _his_ house and giving _him_ orders? He felt that tight feeling in his chest again, and he punched his night table hard, breaking it into pieces. Gohan winced, looking at his fist and seeing that there was blood trickling down from his fist to his arm. He looked at his fist, his eyebrows furrowed.

_Damn it, Dad, _he thought, tears forming in his eyes. _I don't know what's wrong with me… why did you have to leave me?_

Vegeta remained outside of the teenager's door, clearly hearing Chi-Chi yelling at Goten in the bathroom down the hall. The prince had his head slightly cocked to the side, focused instead on her oldest son as he listened to the teen break something. He scowled when he suddenly felt the boy's power spike up momentarily. He then heard the unmistakable sound of the teenager flying out of the window, feeling his energy growing fainter as Gohan sped off.

Vegeta straightened and crossed his arms over his chest. He walked down the hallway, his head slightly lowered as he fell deep into thought. He paused when he was at the bathroom, looking in as Goten refused to let Chi-Chi put a shirt over his head.

"No!" the boy yelled, as Chi-Chi growled.

"You need to get dressed, Goten!" she yelled back.

"Woman," Vegeta said gruffly, drawing her attention. "Leave the garment off the child if he so desires."

"'Geta!" Goten yelled, beaming happily.

Before Vegeta knew what was happening, the boy rushed over to him. Vegeta grimaced, his face the very definition of disgust as Goten clung to his leg. "Get off me immediately!" he admonished the child, giving his leg a shake that effectively shoved Goten away. Goten looked up at him with large eyes that were getting watery. Vegeta growled, knowing Bulma would give him absolute hell if this got back to her.

"Vegeta!" Chi-Chi chastised, furious at the way he so blatantly rejected her son's warmth. He gave her a look of warning, and she immediately quieted down as the prince turned his glare back to Goten.

"Saiyans do not cry, so rid your tears immediately, boy," he demanded. Goten immediately sobered up, as Vegeta sighed and looked back up to Chi-Chi. "Woman, your oldest brat will be coming to Capsule Corporation each morning to train under my supervision." Chi-Chi blinked in shock at Vegeta's words, staring at him as if she didn't hear him correctly. He decided to capitalize and continue speaking before she recovered and assaulted him verbally, "He said that you do not approve, but this matter is none of your concern."

That snapped her out of it. "None of my concern? What are you talking about, he's my son!" she shrieked indignantly. "And I forbid him-"

"Silence!" the prince yelled, unable to stand her voice as he felt his agitation grow. He didn't really feel like traumatizing Goten by slaughtering his annoying mother in front of the boy. He muttered something under his breath about Earth making him weak, before sighing. "Look. Whether or not you want to admit it, both of your sons are half-Saiyans. Your oldest needs to fight. It's in his blood. I will provide the proper environment for him. Your son was the strongest being on the entire planet three years ago, and you have single-handedly regressed him by keeping him away from what comes naturally to him. No wonder he's pissed."

"I forbid it," she growled, looking at him with no fear. He simply stared back, his dark eyes impatient.

"Did you, or did you not, request that my woman ask me to speak to your son?" he asked.

"Well… yes, but-"

"It's settled then. And bring this one as well," he said, looking down his nose at Goten who was staring up at him in admiration. Vegeta could never understand how the boy always looked at him like that. He had never displayed the child any kind of warmth, _especially _since he looked so much like his imbecile of a father; and yet the boy flocked to him, fearlessly. Vegeta scowled at him, "His other evil half will enjoy his company."

Chi-Chi sighed deeply, before nodding. She gave him a grateful look, "Thank you," she told him genuinely.

The prince grunted and walked off down the short hallway of the small home, before descending the stairs. His mind wandered back to Gohan and his unusual behavior as he fell back into deep thought.

He had some ideas as to what was wrong, but he needed to see more first… the Saiyan got outside and looked up at the sky, giving a look that could kill its recipient, if he wasn't already dead.

_Blast you, Kakarot._


	2. The thirst

The sound of the doorbell rang through the spacious compound that was Capsule Corporation, but no one in the Briefs home made a move in response. A few moments later, the doorbell rang again. Sighing, Bulma raised her head and squinted sleepily over her shoulder at the time on the digital clock in her room. It read 5:32AM.

She groaned at the time and lowered her head back to her pillow. She leaned up against Vegeta's back as she put her arm around him, hugging him from behind.

"Someone is at the door and it's 5:30 in the morning," she mumbled, her nose right behind his ear. "Go destroy them."

"Don't tempt me woman. It's Kakarot's kid. I just might humor your request," he mumbled back. He could sense Gohan's energy from where he was, had placed him immediately when he heard the doorbell ring the first time. Now whether or not he felt like dealing with the teenager at the moment was a different topic altogether.

"Gohan?"

"No, it's the little shrimp. Of course it's the oldest one. See what you've done, woman?" he asked, his voice rough from sleep as he scowled, his eyes still closed. "The boy is already being a nuisance."

"Oh, hush and go let Gohan in," she said as she yawned.

"You go let him in. This whole stupid thing was _your _idea."

"I need my beauty sleep."

The prince growled in annoyance as he pulled his pillow closer to him, sliding one arm under it. "Told the boy 7 in the morning. Brat can wait."

"But he's going to wake up Trunks," she complained. "And then _I'll _have to get up."

"Great galaxy, not _that_," Vegeta mumbled, his voice laced with sarcasm. If his eyes had been opened, he most assuredly would've rolled them here. "_Anything_ but that."

The doorbell rang again, making Vegeta and Bulma both groan at the same time.

"Stop being a jerk. He's here to see you, not me. Go see him."

"If I go then the only thing he'll be seeing of me are my fists," he answered evenly.

"Vegeta, if Gohan wakes Trunks up, _you _are the one that's going to deal with him being a crabby kid all day long," she threatened.

Vegeta growled angrily, muttering curses under his breath as he pulled away from her. Bulma sighed and grabbed his pillow, pulling it close and hugging it to her. She watched him through tired eyes as he got up and slipped on the closest pair of pants he could find.

"Be nice to him, please," she said with another yawn.

He just grunted and left the room in an agitated mood.

Meanwhile, Gohan was pacing outside of the main entrance to the compound, back and forth like a madman. He was wearing a light jacket with a hoodie that was up over his head since it was currently pouring outside. He stopped pacing momentarily when he finally sensed Vegeta approaching him. Gohan waited anxiously, biting his lip. He was nervously rocking back and forth as he shifted his weight from his toes to his heels, and back again.

The teenager finally let out a sigh of relief when the door opened. Vegeta stood before him only wearing a loose pair of sweat pants, his eyes hard as he glared at the dripping wet hybrid Saiyan.

"So you can fight, but you can't tell time," the prince said dryly. Gohan buried his hands in the pockets of his jacket, blushing in embarrassment. "Maybe I can beat the knowledge into you, boy. What do you think?" Vegeta sneered.

"I'm sorry," Gohan apologized sheepishly, looking down a little. "I know it's really early, but I just…" his voice trailed off. He shook his head and sighed, staring off to the side.

Vegeta reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose to calm his temper, sighing. "Adolescents," he mumbled quietly to himself in disgust, before turning around and heading back inside. He left the door open behind him, which Gohan took as an invitation. The teen slowly stepped inside and wiped off his shoes as he removed his jacket. Out of habit, he hung up his jacket in the spacious closet right by the entrance to the compound.

Not really tired, Gohan took a look around as he put his hands in the pockets of his khaki pants. It never seemed to impress him how well off Bulma and her family was. He looked over a series of picture frames that adorned the mantle of the living room he was in, stopping to gaze at each one. They were all mostly of Trunks. There was one picture with baby Trunks sitting on Vegeta's shoulders, clinging to his father's hair with Bulma standing behind them. Trunks looked like he was laughing hysterically, whereas Vegeta was grimacing in disgust and looking like he'd rather use his own Galick Gun against himself than be where he currently was. Bulma was clearly laughing at his discomfort in the picture.

Gohan looked at the picture for a while. At first he had smiled when he saw it, but his smile had slowly faltered. Now he found himself staring at the picture with a sadness that he couldn't place. He wasn't even aware that Vegeta was currently staring at him from the entrance to the kitchen.

The prince frowned as he scrutinized the teenager. He definitely looked worse for wear, his eyes completely bloodshot and his face looking downright haggard. Vegeta's dark eyes took in the teen's frame. His lack of training was very evident. Gohan almost looked lanky from how thin he had become.

The display before him would've normally disgusted Vegeta, but for some reason he could never quite pin down, the hatred he felt for his bitter rival had never translated over to his firstborn. Even though the boy had surpassed him in the Cell games and reached a level that Vegeta had yearned for his entire life, he felt more admiration than resentment towards the boy for it. Gohan had earned his respect right from the very beginning, when as a small boy, he went blow-for-blow with Vegeta during his first visit to Earth. Vegeta had been awed by him again on Namek with Gohan's impressive fighting against Frieza, and his respect and admiration had even driven him to help the boy defeat Cell.

Gohan was startled when he heard a grunt. He looked over and saw that he was being watched. Vegeta had slipped on a white t-shirt, and was hardly looking approachable. Then again, the man never really did. Gohan scratched the back of his head nervously and looked at the older Saiyan with apprehension that he couldn't quite shake.

There was an awkward silence. The teenager was almost beginning to regret coming there, wishing he had gone to see Piccolo instead, when Vegeta finally said, "Want some coffee, kid?"

Gohan blinked in surprise. That was hardly what he was expecting. "Um, I've never had any," he admitted quietly.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Well, you look like a walking carcass, so perhaps it's time you tried some." He then turned around, walking into the kitchen. Gohan stood where he was for a few moments, before slowly going after him.

The teenager took a seat at the kitchen table and watched as Vegeta poured out two cups of coffee. "I didn't know you knew how to make coffee," Gohan said. He held his hands together on his lap, one knee bouncing up and down anxiously. Vegeta wasn't doing anything except pouring him out a cup of coffee, but the teenager's anxiety was practically through the roof.

"I'm always the first one here to rise," Vegeta said as he put the coffee pot back on the machine. "Though I usually don't rise for another half hour," he sneered, giving Gohan a pointed look over his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said regretfully as Vegeta came over to have a seat. The prince just grunted and put a mug of coffee near Gohan, pulling the other one closer to him. "I thought for sure that you'd be up already," Gohan added as he took the mug of coffee. He cradled the mug in both hands, looking down at it. It was black, with no cream or milk added, just like Vegeta's. He raised the mug and took a very small sip, and his features crinkled in disgust. It was bitter and scalding hot to boot. He hissed a little at the pain of his tongue burning.

Vegeta seemed oblivious to his discomfort as he took a large drink from his own mug as easily as if he was drinking water, not noticing the teenager watching him with wide eyes. The prince released a satisfied sigh as he lowered his mug back down to the table, before looking at the teenager sitting next to him. "Well?" he finally said, the irritation clear in his dark eyes. "Out with it, boy."

"Huh?" Gohan asked in confusion.

"Why are you here at this hour?" Vegeta asked impatiently.

"I…" Gohan started, before sighing. "I couldn't sleep," he finally said quietly, his knee beginning to bounce again, faster this time. Vegeta's eyebrows furrowed together when he noticed. "I was feeling restless, I guess, and I thought maybe you were up and we could… you know, spar or something, I guess…" his voice trailed off when Vegeta took another large drink of his coffee, completely unfazed by how hot it was or how bitter it tasted. "How can you drink this stuff?" Gohan asked, trying his best not to look disgusted.

Vegeta lowered his mug before looking at Gohan with hard eyes. "What should I drink instead? Strawberry milk?" he asked snidely. Gohan's knee started bouncing even faster.

"Guess not."

Vegeta just grunted as his dark eyes dropped to the boy's knee. He watched it for a moment, scowling at the boy's anxiety. He looked back up at Gohan who was now staring down into his mug. The boy's body was tense, it was obvious. The prince's eyes narrowed as his mind suddenly began to race.

_Teenager._

_Anxious._

_Can't sleep._

_Restless._

_Trouble controlling his own power._

_Violent outbursts._

Vegeta's scowl deepened as he thought of one thing that fit the bill. But it was impossible. The boy was half-Saiyan, and the condition Vegeta had just thought of only afflicted a handful of full-bloods. And anyways, Gohan hadn't had a truly violent outburst that he was aware of. He brushed the thought aside, not wanting to entertain the foolish notion.

"Does that crazy mother of yours know you're here?" Vegeta asked, getting a surprised look from Gohan. The teen frowned a little and looked back down into his mug.

"Do you really think I'd be here if she did?" he asked in a tired voice.

Vegeta snorted at that and raised his mug again, letting Gohan have the last word on that one. They sat in silence for a while, and Gohan wasn't in a rush to break it. For some reason, Vegeta's presence was bringing him the paradoxical combination of comfort and anxiety. His mind and heart were comforted in having an adult, Saiyan male presence there with him, a presence Gohan craved in his life with his father gone. His body, though, was racked with anxiety for reasons that the teenager couldn't place. He knew Vegeta wouldn't abruptly blindside him or attack him, yet it felt like he couldn't convince his body of that fact. He was tense as if ready for a fight at any moment.

Vegeta downed the rest of his coffee, bringing the mug back down as he sighed in content. He glanced over at the teenager who was beginning to sweat. His eyes narrowed as he studied him. "Are you sick or something, kid? Because if you are, and you get the boy here sick, Bulma will have your head."

"I'm fine," Gohan snapped with more force than was necessary. Vegeta's look turned harsh at the teenager's tone, which Gohan instantly noticed. "Sorry, Vegeta," he said sheepishly. "I'm really fine, thanks for asking," he said genuinely, looking over at the prince with grateful eyes.

"Don't think for one second that I care about your well-being, boy. I just don't want to hear the blasted woman bitching," Vegeta sneered, before standing up. Gohan instinctively stood up as well, without a moment's hesitation. Vegeta raised an eyebrow at this, his dark eyes taking in the teenager's defensive stance. He then raised his eyes to Gohan's and gave him a disapproving scowl. "I am not going to attack you, idiot. Unless, of course, you want me to."

Gohan swallowed heavily and lowered his fists, shaking his head as if he was trying to rid a thought. "Sorry," he said, his face reddening in embarrassment.

There was silence for a few seconds. Vegeta took in the teen's appearance again, and figured rest was probably more important for the boy than having a spar. "Go home, boy. You look like shit," the prince said rather bluntly. "Come back when you've gotten more sleep and you're actually a worthy sparring partner."

His words hit Gohan like a well-placed punch right to the gut. Even though Vegeta thought he was actually doing the boy a rare kindness, all Gohan heard was that the prince didn't want him there anymore.

At the thought of going back home, something inside of Gohan finally began to break.

"I… I can't," the teenager blurted out, his voice breaking as tears suddenly came to his bloodshot eyes. Vegeta scowled at the emotional display and looked away from him, preferring to stare at the wall as he crossed his arms. Gohan looked down at the floor, "When I'm home, I… I just think about him and I… it makes me so…" he clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought to keep his tears back.

Vegeta felt the boy's power begin to rise, and he looked back at him. His scowl deepened, not liking what he was seeing as he realized that the teenager's tears were of rage. "Fine," the prince finally said, hoping to diffuse the situation. "You can stay here and we'll spar, boy. Now compose yourself immediately," he ordered.

"I… he… he left me… my brother…" Gohan was actually shaking as his power continued to surge in response to his growing fury. His eyes were now going from black to teal, to black again. Finally, they went teal as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Vegeta noted with some concern now that even with the transformation, his power level was still skyrocketing. The entire kitchen began to shake.

"Regain control, boy, before you destroy this part of the house," Vegeta ordered in a calm and firm voice. He walked up to the teenager and put a hand on Gohan's shoulder. Gohan flinched back at the contact, snarling at Vegeta instinctively. Vegeta growled and clenched his fists. "Gohan," he said in a raised, authoritative voice. "You need to calm down, _right_ _now!_"

Hearing Vegeta use his actual name quickly brought Gohan to his senses. A split second later, he powered down and lost the golden aura that had been surrounding him. He gasped, panting and still shaking as Vegeta stared at him with a slightly bewildered look.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said, looking down at his shaking hands in shame. "I don't know what's…" he shook his head and looked away, tears still in his eyes. "I'm sorry."

As much as he wanted to, Vegeta couldn't bring himself to be disgusted by the blatant show of weakness in front of him. Not when Gohan was reminding him quite a bit of himself when he was younger. The only differences were that Gohan expressed his pain externally, while he had bottled his up inside. They had also dealt with their emotions in polar opposite ways; one through brooding, and the other through extreme violence.

But the resentment at its very core was one in the same, and it was directed towards the same males in both of their lives, for very similar reasons. Vegeta frowned, understanding how the teenager before him felt, but not sure how to vocalize that understanding. He wasn't skilled at this kind of thing. Finally, he decided to just go for the obvious.

"Cross your arms, boy."

"Huh?" Gohan asked, looking up in confusion.

"It'll help your hands," Vegeta said, looking at the boy's shaking hands. Gohan looked back down at them, and did as he was told. It helped. He gave Vegeta a small, wary smile.

"Thanks… I'm sorry that I lost control like that."

"Stop apologizing, you didn't kill anyone, brat," Vegeta said as he crossed his own arms. "And if it's such a horror being home, then I will speak to the woman to see if you can stay here a while. I could use a good sparring partner anyways." Gohan blinked and stared at Vegeta in surprise, before giving a grateful smile. The Saiyan prince growled in response. "It will only be temporary, boy, so don't get too comfortable," he sneered.

"Thanks, Vegeta," Gohan said with a sigh of relief. He finally felt like he could breathe. Vegeta rolled his eyes and was going to respond when a tired voice spoke up.

"Papa?"

Vegeta and Gohan both turned to see a bleary-eyed Trunks standing at the kitchen entrance. He blinked at them, before rubbing his eyes with both hands.

"Go back to bed, boy, before you wake up your mother," Vegeta ordered.

"But Papa," Trunks said, lowering one hand and continuing to rub one eye with his other hand. "I felt lotsa power."

"Sorry about that, Trunks," Gohan said with a small smile. Trunks blinked and looked sleepily at him, before going back to rubbing his eyes.

"Go out back, kid," Vegeta ordered Gohan, drawing the teenager's attention. "I'll be out there in five minutes. We will spar then. It will do you a lot of good."

Vegeta then walked over to Trunks and put his hand firmly on the back of his neck. He turned Trunks around and steered the tired boy in the direction of his room, walking with him out of the kitchen. Gohan watched them leave, a deep sadness in his eyes again and a pang of jealousy in his heart at the scene.

"So. You sensed a lot of power, huh, boy?" Vegeta asked his son.

"Uh huh," Trunks replied sleepily as he yawned. He could hardly keep his eyes open and just walked on autopilot wherever his father was leading him.

"And then what? You decided to come downstairs to do something about it?" Vegeta asked with a smirk.

"Yeah. I was gonna beat'm up."

Gohan heard Vegeta chuckle before their voices faded. The teenager sighed, and looked out of the kitchen window, watching the rain. His moment of relaxation was quickly leaving, and he was beginning to feel anxious again at the thought of telling his mother he'd be staying at Capsule Corporation for a while. Not to mention, he was starting feel a nasty headache coming on from not having slept. He hadn't slept well in days now. He took a deep breath to calm down, but that tight feeling was in his chest again and he just couldn't shake it.

Finally, he heard footsteps again. He turned and saw that Vegeta had changed into blue training pants and his patented white boots. A white towel was around his neck, a water bottle in one hand. He eyed Gohan with clear disapproval.

"Thought I told you to wait outside," Vegeta said dryly. "Clearly, you have a hearing problem that I wasn't aware of."

"Sorry, I zoned out," Gohan admitted with a sigh. Vegeta narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, before motioning with his head towards the door.

"Well, get a move on, boy," he ordered gruffly. Gohan just nodded and walked over to the door that led outside, the prince walking closely behind him. Together, they walked out into the rain as they crossed the grass towards the gravity room.

Gohan didn't know why he still felt so anxious as he watched Vegeta going to turn on the gravity simulator. He had trained for a year under Piccolo's guidance, and the Namek hadn't gone easy on him for a second. He had also spent three years training with both Piccolo and his father in preparation for the androids. On top of all that, he had trained in the hyperbolic time chamber with his father. He had more fighting experience under his belt than anyone his age on the entire planet.

So why was he so on edge about a sparring session with Vegeta?

The prince eyed the gravity settings, trying to decide what level would be good to engage. He looked over his shoulder at the teenager and caught the wary look in the boy's eyes. Vegeta rolled his eyes and turned to face Gohan, not activating the simulator. He looked the boy up and down and sneered.

"You came to spar dressed like a civilian?" he asked, in a tone with both disbelief and disgust.

Gohan blinked and looked down at his t-shirt and khaki pants. The teen sighed and looked up at the Saiyan who was staring at him. "I've been out all night," Gohan finally admitted, looking away from Vegeta's gaze. "I was planning on going home, but I… I didn't want to. These clothes are fine," he said quietly.

"Very well," Vegeta said, tossing his water bottle and towel aside. "Enough talk then. Let's go." He got into one of his fighting stances, and Gohan reluctantly got into one of his.

Half a second later, Gohan hit the floor hard. He reached his hands up to his face where Vegeta had just landed a hard punch. Vegeta raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the teenager who was slowly sitting up. He wasn't trying to kill the boy; this was just a spar. The punch he had thrown was just to get the spar going and set the pace. Gohan was fully capable of having dodged or blocked it, and yet it looked like the teenager hadn't even seen it coming.

"You would've put up a better fight in the kitchen, boy. Now, get up and fight, or get out of here and stop wasting my damn time," Vegeta snarled as he circled Gohan. The teenager spit out some blood, the force of the blow having forced him to bite down hard on his tongue. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. He then shot Vegeta a glare which made the Saiyan smirk. "What, don't like me hitting you?" Vegeta said in a challenging tone. "Well come do something about it then."

Gohan leaned back for a split second before doing a nip up, landing on his feet. He straightened and pulled off his t-shirt, tossing it to the side. He then raised one fist, clenching it tightly. A split second later, and the teenager's ki exploded into a golden aura around him as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. He glared at the Saiyan in front of him, making Vegeta's smirk grow.

"That's the spirit, kid," he said in approval, before transforming as well.

A few hours later, and they were still sparring. Vegeta wasn't going lightly on the teenager, and Gohan loved it. The last time he had trained with any degree of intensity was with his father in the hyperbolic chamber. It had pissed him off then that Goku had always held back a little bit with him, and it was such a relief to not have to constantly beg for someone to not hold back. It had been such a long time since he had fought, and though he hadn't wanted to at first, the spar was now fully welcomed. Finally, his anxiety was gone and the feeling in his chest was subsided. Even when Vegeta was able to land a direct blow, Gohan relished in it. The more they fought, the more he wanted to fight. He couldn't remember the last time he had craved fighting so much, and was becoming more and more grateful to Vegeta for suggesting it.

Vegeta was extremely impressed by the teenager's tenacity. Gohan was visibly winded and yet he still kept coming for more. The two were a golden blur of moves that were far too fast for the human eye, dematerializing and materializing again and again as they tried catching the other off guard. Vegeta blocked a knee aimed for his ribs, Gohan blocked an elbow aimed for his face, Vegeta materialized behind Gohan who blocked his kick from behind, on and on, near miss after near miss. Two Saiyans doing what they loved best, both relishing in the competition, both wanting to emerge winner of the spar.

"Vegeta, Gohan!" The two stopped fighting when they heard Bulma's voice come over the sound system in the gravity room. Vegeta shoved Gohan away from him. "It's lunch time!"

That was all they needed to hear.

Bulma's eyes were wide as she watched Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks go to town on the meal she and her mother had spent almost all morning making. Gohan was now wearing one of Vegeta's shirts, having used his t-shirt as a makeshift towel after his sparring session. Chi-Chi had dropped off Goten a few hours after Gohan had dropped by, and hardly seemed surprised that Gohan was already there. She couldn't stay, but she had brought along food for both of her sons. Now Bulma just watched as the massive amount of food she had prepared was being inhaled at frightening speed.

"Trunks!" Goten yelled. "I wanted that egg roll!" he cried.

"It's mine!" Trunks yelled back. He went to eat the egg roll when it was snatched out of his hands.

"I will settle this," Vegeta said in a firm voice. Both boys looked at him expectantly, each waiting for half an egg roll. They both looked completely dismayed when Vegeta just ate the whole thing instead.

"Vegeta!" Bulma chastised. He just gave her a devilish smirk, with a shrug. She rolled her eyes, before looking at the oldest Son boy who was eating quietly, his eyes down. Vegeta saw this, and pushed away the rest of his food. He stood up and walked over to her. He motioned for her to follow him as he walked past her.

Once they were in the living room, the Saiyan turned to face his mate.

"The boy needs to stay here for a while."

"Is that why he came here early? Was he running away or something?" Bulma asked curiously. Vegeta just shrugged.

"He was out all night, who knows where. That's not the point, woman. The point is that being at home is driving the boy mad. I think it's in the best interest of the Earth that he not be there for a while." Bulma studied him intently, looking for signs of his usual sarcasm. She found none.

"Is he having problems with Chi-Chi? I mean, if he is, I can talk to her about it. I know she's tough on him sometimes."

"No. His problems are with his imbecile of a father," Vegeta said bitterly. Bulma's eyes softened with understanding as she nodded.

"Poor kid," she said with a sigh, looking over her shoulder in the direction of the kitchen. "Yeah, it would probably be better that he stay here. I'll talk to Chi-Chi about it."

"It would be best if I kept a close eye on him," Vegeta said. She looked back at him in surprise. Just a day ago, he was adamantly against talking to Gohan. Now he was asking her to allow the teenager to live with them for a while. Her look of surprise turned into a look of suspicion.

"What is really going on here, Vegeta?" she asked. He sighed._ Damn her intelligence._ Bulma watched him curiously as he stepped closer to her. He leaned in close to her ear.

"Woman… I think there is something else going on with the boy other than mere puberty," Vegeta whispered as quietly as possible, not wanting the boys to hear him. Bulma almost had to strain to hear him even as close as he was. "If I'm right, it could be bad news for everyone with how powerful the brat is."

"What do you mean?" she whispered back. "What do you think is going on with him?"

He went to answer before they both suddenly heard Gohan furiously roar, "I SAID STOP DOING THAT, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!"

There was a startled silence. Even Vegeta looked shocked by the outburst. The silence was finally broken by Goten bursting into tears. Bulma ran back into the kitchen as Vegeta walked after her, frowning.

"Gohan! He's your brother!" Bulma chastised harshly, before turning her attention to the little boy who was practically hyperventilating as he cried, tears streaming down his face. Gohan scowled and looked at his little brother. His eyes softened and filled with shame, and he looked away, embarrassed with himself. "It's okay, sweetie, don't cry," Bulma said soothingly, hugging Goten as Vegeta finally walked into the kitchen. She looked at her own son. "Trunks, honey, why don't you take Goten to your room so you guys can play?"

Trunks just nodded, giving Gohan a wary look as he slowly got up from the table. He looked over at his father, unsure of what was going on. Vegeta just gave a curt nod to obey his mother, so Trunks turned to Goten.

"Come on, Goten," Trunks said kindly, reaching his hand towards his best friend. Goten sniffed a few times, before taking Trunks' hand. The little boys both left the kitchen, Trunks in the lead.

Gohan looked up to find Vegeta with his arms crossed over his chest, and Bulma with her hands on her waist, both of them staring at him.

"Well?" Bulma finally asked. "What do you have to say for yourself, young man?"

"I'm sorry," Gohan replied, shame in his voice.

"You sure have been apologizing a lot today, boy," Vegeta sneered.

"Whatever," Gohan hissed under his breath. Vegeta snarled in response as he stepped forward towards him, his patience beginning to wear thin with the teenager. He only stopped when Bulma reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Watch your mouth when you address me, before I rearrange it with my fists," the Saiyan prince growled dangerously. "I have had _enough_ of your insolence, boy!"

"I said I was sorry! What else do you guys want me to fucking say?" Gohan yelled as he suddenly stood up.

"GOHAN! What in the world has gotten into you?" Bulma exclaimed, bewildered with the teenager. Vegeta pulled her back by the arm so she was behind him. Gohan saw the gesture and felt like Vegeta had punched him again. Without words, the Saiyan had made a protective gesture, silently assessing Gohan as some kind of threat that he needed to protect Bulma from.

And it pissed him the hell off.

"What? You think I'm dangerous now?" Gohan asked in a tone that made Vegeta instinctively tense. In over thirty years of battles and violence, Vegeta could recognize a hostile and threatening tone when he heard one.

"You tell me, boy," Vegeta replied evenly. "If you engage me in a fight right now though, rest assured that I won't hesitate to end it permanently."

"Vegeta," Bulma said, looking at her husband with trepidation. "Don't say that." She stepped to the side a little to look at the teenager. "Gohan… what's going on with you, kiddo?" she asked in a more gentle voice, though her eyes were concerned.

Gohan took a step back, his fury leaving him just as quickly as it came. He looked at Bulma, then looked at the scrutinizing gaze of Vegeta. The shame flared up inside of him and his hands began to shake again.

"I'm sorry," he said, his voice breaking as tears came to his eyes again. He took another step back, shaking his head. "I don't know… something is wrong… I have to go," he suddenly said. Before Bulma or Vegeta could get a word in, the teenager was gone.

Bulma and Vegeta stood in silence in the kitchen, both of them looking at the door the teenager had dashed through. Vegeta finally sighed and turned to face his mate.

"See what I mean?" he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Bulma blinked and looked back at him, frowning a little.

"_I _think he's just being a hormonal, pain in the ass teenager," Bulma said matter-of-factly. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Perhaps if he was fully human."

"What do you think it is?" Bulma asked curiously. Vegeta stayed quiet for a while, contemplating as he looked off to the side.

"Sometimes," he finally started, "In the change from a boy to a man, Saiyans develop… a thirst. It's not very common, but it happens around his age. If it's not met, there are side effects."

"A thirst? What do you mean?"

"A thirst for kills. Where every fiber of your soul wants nothing more than to spill the blood of the next being who looks at you the wrong way. It becomes an actual, _physical_ need, as dominant as hunger. If the thirst isn't satisfied, it starts affecting you physically. You might as well starve yourself," he said, scowling as he looked back at his mate. "It wasn't looked at as a negative thing. On the contrary. It was the mark of a true warrior. When it passed, the Saiyan was stronger. It was a gift."

"You had it," she said in realization. He nodded.

"Had it and satisfied it. Came out of it stronger, just like I was supposed to. Nappa and Raditz barely survived," he said, smirking a little at the memory. It faltered a little though as he continued. "A lot of civilizations though weren't as fortunate."

Bulma shuddered, a chill instinctively going down her spine at the reminder of her husband's brutal past. She looked back to the door. "Gohan…"

"I'm not sure if the boy has it. But he does have the signs of not satisfying it," he admitted, also following her gaze. "I've never heard of a half-breed having it, but the boy is no normal half-breed. That's for damn sure."

"Well, what if he does have it? Can we just ignore it?"

"I don't know, woman. No one has ever ignored it. It wasn't hard for even a low class Saiyan to find a way to satisfy the thirst. Saiyans are ruthless by nature. Most were killing someone or something at his age anyways, it just became a need that was already being satisfied. But this boy…" his voice trailed off.

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes. The boy is probably craving the one activity he hates the most. The power of having someone's life in his hands. The kill. The one thing that goes against his very nature is probably the one thing his body is craving the most, more than food, more than sleep, more than anything."

Bulma was silent, her mind racing. Finally, she looked back at Vegeta. "You said you don't know if he has it. How can you know for sure?"

He looked at her for a moment, before turning and walking towards the door Gohan had ran through.

"There is only one way to find out."


	3. Talks

If there was anyone on the planet who had even less patience for hormonal teenagers than Vegeta, it was Piccolo.

The green alien was sitting crosslegged, arms crossed over his chest, levitating a few feet in the air. One antenna was twitching in annoyance as Gohan walked up to him from behind. The boy lately had been a whirlwind of fluctuating emotions, and it took all of Piccolo's self-discipline not to scream at the teenager to just snap out of it already. He had always been fond of Gohan, but still. A Namek had his limits.

"Hey, Piccolo," Gohan greeted tiredly, forlornly sitting on the dirt behind the alien.

"What now, Gohan?" Piccolo demanded, his eyes closed as he frowned. "I already told you to go home and get some sleep."

Gohan sighed, putting his palms on the ground behind him as he leaned back on his arms. "Yeah, I know," he mumbled, stretching his legs out in front of him. He rotated one foot from side to side absent-mindedly. "But I don't really want to go home right now, I guess."

Piccolo grunted. "With that mother of yours, who can blame you?" he mumbled. Gohan snickered at that. If there was anyone who could strike fear into Piccolo, it was Chi-Chi. The Namek opened his eyes and his frown grew as he looked over his shoulder at his protégé. "Why do you smell like Vegeta?"

Gohan blinked in surprise, before looking down at himself. "Oh, yeah, I forgot. I borrowed one of his shirts," he said with a laugh, raising one hand and scratching the back of his head. "I went to see him and we sparred a while."

Piccolo just stared at him for a moment, before looking ahead again. He grunted, before remarking, "Thought you didn't want to fight anymore."

"Yeah, well, _you _try arguing with Vegeta," Gohan mumbled under his breath.

"Speak of the devil," Piccolo said, opening his eyes and gazing into the distance, sensing Vegeta approaching in a hurry. Gohan instantly stood up and ran off before Piccolo could say another word. The Namek looked over his shoulder in surprise, but hardly had the time to think about what the hell that was about before he had another visitor.

Vegeta's blue aura disappeared before he descended from the air, landing in front of Piccolo. The prince crossed his arms and the two glared at each other for a moment. Finally, Vegeta broke the silence first.

"Namek," Vegeta greeted tersely.

"Saiyan," Piccolo responded evenly.

They stared at each other for a while longer, before Vegeta grunted and glanced around, instinctively scanning the area. They were in mountainous terrain, and it reminded him of where he had battled with Kakarot for the very first time. Scowling, the Saiyan turned his gaze to the levitating Namek in front of him. "Where is that half-breed adopted brat of yours?" he demanded. "I sensed him here just a minute ago."

_Tell him I'm not here, _Gohan sent telepathically, suppressing his ki as much as he could.

"Why do you want to know?" Piccolo asked.

"That's between me and the boy," Vegeta growled impatiently. "We have business we must discuss."

"Hn. Find him on your own then," Piccolo said, closing his eyes and trying to get back to his meditating.

"Very well. I'll make sure he comes straight to _you,_ then, for all of his adolescent problems, relieving his mother and me of that responsibility. I'm sure you can handle all of that," Vegeta said with a smirk.

"He's hiding behind the rocks over there," Piccolo said automatically without opening his eyes, pointing in the right direction.

Gohan instantly stood up from his hiding place, his face flushed in a crimson red from his embarrassment. "Damn it, Piccolo," he hissed.

"Sorry, kid," Piccolo said with a hint of a smirk on his face.

Gohan shot his master a glare before turning his attention to the Saiyan who was approaching him. Gohan watched him with trepidation, crossing his arms defensively and already blushing in embarrassment from the tongue lashing he knew Vegeta was going to give him. If the Saiyan was in a good mood anyways. If not, then they were surely going to be engaged in a brawl within seconds.

"Look, Vegeta," Gohan started, his blush growing, "I'm really sorry about-"

"Kid, if I have to hear you apologize one more time, I swear, I am going to tear your tongue out and feed it to the nearest mongrel I find," Vegeta sneered. He glanced over his shoulder and smirked, "Or maybe, the nearest Namek."

Piccolo gave a low growl in response.

Vegeta turned his attention back to Gohan, his smirk disappearing and a look of studious concentration coming over his features as he observed the teenager before him. Gohan shifted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. Finally, Vegeta grunted and turned back around.

"Come with me, boy," he ordered.

"Where to?" Gohan asked nervously, but all he got for an answer was Vegeta taking off into the air. Gohan sighed, before reluctantly following after him.

_Thanks a lot, Piccolo, _he sent telepathically.

_Don't mention it, _came the smug reply.

Gohan flew after Vegeta for a while, frowning the whole time as he tried thinking of where they were headed. They weren't going back to Capsule Corporation as he had originally suspected, and he couldn't for the life of him think of where else Vegeta would want to take him. There was the off-chance that the prince was leading him somewhere to spar, but they could have done that in the terrain where Piccolo was, or in Vegeta's gravity room.

Finally, Vegeta descended, with Gohan quickly following suit. Gohan hurried a bit and came up next to Vegeta as they walked together. They had landed in an empty alley where they wouldn't be noticeable.

"What are we doing here?" Gohan asked curiously, glancing around anxiously.

"Just thought we could sit somewhere and talk, kid," Vegeta said with a shrug, not seeing or perhaps simply ignoring the shocked look the teenager next to him was giving him. "There's a bench over there on the sidewalk. Let's go have a seat."

Gohan was dumbfounded, wondering who had captured Vegeta and who this impostor was. The Saiyan prince wanted to sit with him on a bench and talk? The Vegeta he knew would want to "talk" his problems out in the gravity room. Nonetheless, he slowly followed Vegeta out of the alley and over to the bench he had pointed out, right in the middle of the city buzz. Vegeta sat down and instantly crossed his arms over his chest, with Gohan sitting down next to him soon afterwards.

They sat in silence for a while. Gohan held his hands together, one knee starting to jitter as he observed everything going on around them. The traffic in front of him on the street, the people crossing the street, the people walking up and down the sidewalk… the teenager swallowed heavily, wringing his hands tightly together. He glanced over at Vegeta, who was staring straight ahead at nothing in particular. The prince narrowed his eyes though when Gohan turned to look at him.

"What did you want to talk about, Vegeta?" Gohan asked in a wary voice.

Vegeta eyed the teenager out of the corner of his eye for a few moments, before frowning. He looked away after a moment and collected his thoughts. "What do you truly know of Saiyans, boy?"

Gohan looked at Vegeta in surprise, before his senses diverged his attention to something across the street. He stared at a couple walking down the sidewalk with complete attention, before frowning as his attention was diverted again.

"I asked you a question, kid," Vegeta said, his eyes and full attention now on the teenager next to him. Gohan shook his head a little and ran a hand through his hair, his knee bouncing even more.

"Um, I just kind of vaguely remember what Raditz…erm, my uncle…told us when he first came to Earth," Gohan answered, frowning in thought as he wrung his hands even tighter.

Vegeta nodded, remembering what Raditz had said since he had been getting the transmission the whole time over his subordinate's scouter. "I see."

"He said that Saiyans were-"

"I know what he said," Vegeta cut off sharply. "I heard the exchange."

"Oh," Gohan said, frowning a little in confusion. His attention was diverted again, his senses more heightened than usual, and he decided not to press the issue. He swallowed heavily, raising one hand and wiping his sweat off his forehead. Something about being around all these people…

"A better question would be, how much do you know of my past?"

Gohan looked at Vegeta, his eyes wide in shock. The Saiyan never opened up to anyone (that Gohan knew of) about his time with Frieza. Of course, he had opened up once on Namek, but no one who was sane would dare mention that to him now. Gohan took a deep breath, before shaking his head.

"Not much except, well, you know… the basics," Gohan admitted quietly, looking away uncomfortably. His eyes scanned over everyone passing by with heightened awareness, his anxiety bubbling up inside of him.

"When I was your age, there was only one thing I would want to do right now," Vegeta said, lowering his voice a little as his dark eyes took in his surroundings. Gohan waited for him to elaborate, but when it was clear that's all he was going to get, he decided to go ahead and ask.

"What was that? Be with girls or something?" Gohan asked curiously. Vegeta smirked a little at the teenager's guess, but it was only for a few seconds. He shook his head.

"Not exactly."

"Then what?"

"Come on, kid," Vegeta said, fixing Gohan with a serious glare. "You're not an idiot like your father. I was always Frieza's favorite soldier. What do you _think _I would be doing right now if I was your age?"

Gohan clenched his fists tightly, seeing the dark truth in Vegeta's eyes. He could practically see the cold killer that Vegeta used to be, could see the truths that were long repressed but hardly forgotten. A shudder ran through the teenager as he put the pieces together. He had to look away. He bit his bottom lip, his eyebrows furrowing together as he settled his gaze to the ground.

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked quietly, not liking where his intuition was taking him.

"Because I think we're not as different as we seem," Vegeta said in a careful tone, observing the teenager next to him with close attention.

"I am not like you," Gohan instantly shot back, giving Vegeta a fierce look. "At least, not like how you used to be. I could never do those things."

"I've got news for you, boy," Vegeta responded, an edge to his voice now. "You have Saiyan blood, and there's not a damn thing you can do to change that. And Saiyans sometimes have urges-"

"I don't want to hear any more," Gohan said, suddenly standing up. Vegeta was a second faster, and was already standing and grasping Gohan's arm tightly before he could even finish his sentence. The teenager glared at him furiously.

"We are not finished here, boy," Vegeta growled, stepping up close to him and ignoring the small scene they were now making. "You _will_ listen to what I have to say."

"No, I _won't!_" Gohan yelled, pulling his arm free. "I would never-"

"You would never what? Kill someone?" Vegeta challenged quietly, crossing his arms over his chest. He was almost whispering the words. Gohan heard him clear as day, and he was the only one. "Did you, or did you not, kill Cell?"

Gohan visibly tensed at his words, before his eyes darkened with a brilliant rage. He clenched his fists tightly as he glared at the Saiyan in front of him. "I did that to save the Earth-"

"Did you like it?" Vegeta interrupted, stepping closer to the teenager. Gohan clenched his fists even tighter.

"I did what I had to do. I did what was right," Gohan hissed through clenched teeth as Vegeta slowly started to circle him. Gohan tracked his every movement with his senses, his heart pounding furiously in his chest. His senses were at an all-time high in awareness. He could hear and feel everything happening around him, and it had him completely on edge.

"You didn't answer my question, boy," Vegeta stated matter-of-factly. Gohan's fists began trembling with rage. "Maybe you didn't hear me the first time. I will repeat myself once more. Did you, _or __did you not, _enjoy killing Cell?"

"I did _not _enjoy it, Vegeta," Gohan sneered as Vegeta came to stand in front of him again. The prince stared at him for a moment, before smirking and stepping up closer to him again.

"You can feel everything, can't you, Gohan," he said in a low voice, his tone making his words a statement. Gohan felt a chill run down his spine, and he was unable to form a response. He looked at Vegeta with clear surprise on his face. Vegeta looked around them, taking in everyone walking past them, oblivious to their conversation. "You can hear them better. You can smell them better. Almost makes you dizzy with need, doesn't it?"

Gohan began to tremble, and he swallowed heavily. He wanted to speak and deny it, but his words were choked in the dryness of his throat.

"It would be so easy, wouldn't it? Two blasts, maybe three. Everyone here would be dead," Vegeta said in a low but completely conversational tone as he looked to the side, taking in everyone around him.

"I…can't…" Gohan sputtered out, shaking his head in despair.

"Sure you can," Vegeta answered, turning to look back at him. "You're a Saiyan. Half-breed, sure. But if you think you don't have it in you, then you are sorely mistaken. It's in our blood. We are the premiere killing machines in the universe, boy."

"No," Gohan snapped, regaining his resolve and glaring at Vegeta once again. "I _won't _do it."

"I'm not telling you to do it, kid," Vegeta snorted, rolling his eyes. "I wouldn't let you do it even if you wanted to… what I'm saying though, is that you _want_ to," he said with a smirk.

Vegeta barely had enough time to dodge Gohan's punch. He immediately grabbed Gohan's arm and pinned it behind him. Before the teenager knew it, he was slammed face-down on the bench, Vegeta's knee firmly on his back. Some people stopped walking and gasped a little at the sight. Vegeta fixed them with a malicious sneer.

"Better move along unless you want to join in the fun," he threatened. Very quickly, everyone continued about their business, scurrying along a little faster.

"Let me go, asshole!" Gohan hissed furiously against the bench. The only way to get Vegeta off of him now was to transform into a Super Saiyan, and Gohan didn't dare do so where so many would see him. Against his will, though, he felt his power begin to rise.

"My, my. What a colorful vocabulary. What would your dear, dead father say?" Vegeta said with a snicker.

Gohan released an infuriated roar, his eyes flashing teal for a brief moment as he trembled with rage. Vegeta frowned a little, but that's all he had the chance to do before being violently thrown backwards. He was sent back to the alley where he slammed into a dumpster, caving it in completely. Vegeta winced a little, not having seen that coming at all. He slowly got back up to his feet as some bewildered people approached him.

"Hey, dude, you okay?"

"You alright? Don't move! I'll call for help!"

"That was crazy, that kid just sent you flying, man!"

Vegeta got up to his feet to the amazement of the people who gathered around him. He eyed them with disdain, sneering at them instinctively.

"I'm fine, fools," he snarled. "Now get away from here."

"No way man, you need help, look at that dumpster!" a young man with bright red hair said, pointing as everyone else nodded in agreement.

Vegeta ignored them, his eyes locked on the teenager approaching them.

"Get out of here, all of you," Vegeta hissed, his body tensing.

Gohan narrowed his eyes, seeing Vegeta tense for a fight. Well, if it was a fight he wanted, he could oblige him. If there was one thing Vegeta knew how to do, it was push his buttons. Well, he had pushed him too damn far this time. Accusing him of having such insane, murderous intentions, and then bringing his father into it. Gohan was tired of it, and he clenched his fists tightly as he approached.

"Hey little man, you're a bad dude!" an older teenager told him, laughing as he clapped Gohan on the back. Gohan tore his eyes away from Vegeta and coldly assessed the older boy standing next to him, as if it pained him to give the older teen any kind of attention.

The next thing the kid knew, Gohan had him by the throat and pinned against a brick wall. Vegeta instantly turned to everyone else who were watching the scene in shock.

"Get OUT of here, IDIOTS!" Vegeta screamed at them. They didn't need to be told twice. Everyone scattered away.

Gohan furrowed his eyebrows at the fear on the boy's face that he was seeing. He tilted his head a little, before sneering, "I'm not a _bad dude. _And I don't like people touching me."

"Sorry man, please let me go," the older teenager begged, clawing at the steel grip Gohan had on him.

"Gohan," Vegeta said in a cautious voice from behind him. He reached out and put a hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Let him go." Gohan turned his head a little at Vegeta's voice, frowning. Vegeta took a deep breath and walked around him, immediately making eye contact with him. Gohan's fury was still burning in his eyes, and Vegeta knew it was his fault that it was there.

The prince put a hand over Gohan's wrist.

"Let him _go_, Gohan. I can help you, kid," Vegeta said in a genuine and quiet tone. The fury immediately disappeared from Gohan's eyes at his words. He blinked a few times, and slowly, released his grip. The older boy instantly dropped to the ground, gasping for air. Vegeta fixed the boy with an ice cold glare. "Get out of here now, imbecile," he ordered, watching as the kid scrambled to his feet and ran off.

Vegeta then turned back to Gohan, who looked completely defeated and ashamed. The teenager bent over at the waist as if physically pained, his hands on his knees as he lowered his head, breathing heavily. What had he almost done?

"What is wrong with me, Vegeta?" he finally asked, his voice breaking.

"Sometimes, kid, Saiyan teenagers have the overwhelming thirst to kill… a physical need to kill. I think you might have it," Vegeta told him bluntly. It wasn't his nature to sugar-coat things.

Devastated, Gohan sank to his knees, lowering his palms to the ground. He closed his eyes tightly. He wanted to desperately deny it, but how could he? He had almost killed a boy just for clapping him on the back. What if Vegeta wouldn't have been there? "You had it?" he asked after a moment's silence, already knowing the answer.

"Yes. I did."

"It wasn't just something that _you _had?" Gohan asked, desperately looking for an out.

Vegeta chuckled humorlessly. "No, kid. It hit Saiyans randomly. Saiyan Elite like me, low level trash like your uncle. No rhyme or reason. Not all that common. Possibly genetic, though…" he cleared his throat and scowled. "No way of knowing now, I suppose."

"My uncle… Raditz," Gohan said in disbelief, staring at the ground as he remembered the traumatic experience that his uncle had brought into his life.

Vegeta crouched down in front of Gohan. "Why do you think that Raditz was so much stronger than your father when they first met? They were both the same low-level ranked soldiers. Raditz, though, had this craving as a teenager and he satisfied it. It made him stronger than Kakarot. He would have always been the stronger of the two had your father not trained vigorously like he did."

Gohan looked up, his eyes filled with tears as he made eye contact with Vegeta. "But my dad, he didn't have it."

"And you have already surpassed him."

The teenager just shook his head and looked back down. "I can't do it, Vegeta." He was met with silence, before glancing back up warily. He frowned at the look Vegeta was giving him, before swallowing and asking, "I… have to, don't I?"

Vegeta scowled and looked away. Old memories were coming up to the surface, memories that he had long ago pushed away to the dark recesses of his mind. He closed his eyes and sighed, remembering those days but not wanting to.

"Everyone has always satisfied it, kid. If you don't, there are side effects," Vegeta stated, looking back at him with critical eyes. "I think you're already suffering from some."

They stared at each other before Gohan finally cleared his throat. "Vegeta… if everyone satisfied it, then how do you know there are side effects?"

The Saiyan prince instantly stood up, his fists clenched tightly. He opened his mouth to instinctively give a scathing reply, but he caught himself before he did. He looked off to the side, knowing that he would just be antagonizing the boy and that Gohan didn't have his usual control over his power right now. Plus, it's not like Gohan knew that he was digging into depths Vegeta didn't want to remember. He snickered bitterly, wondering when it was that he had grown to be so patient.

"Personal experience," he finally mumbled after a moment of silence. Gohan saw the way Vegeta's eyes were growing distant. He slowly straightened, still on his knees, leaning back, his hands resting on his thighs.

"What can I do?" Gohan asked quietly, looking down, a tortured expression on his face. "I can't actually…you know…"

Vegeta's eyes slowly re-focused and he blinked a few times. He glanced over at the teenager kneeling before him and crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure yet. I wasn't sure if you even had it. I'm still not completely sure," he admitted with a frown. "You would have ripped that boy's head off if you did have it."

Gohan swallowed, not liking how close he had been to having cold-blooded murder on his hands. "Maybe… maybe it's different because I'm half-human?" he suggested, his eyes bright with hope.

Vegeta's frown deepened as he contemplated it. He slowly gave a nod, "Probably. I'm not entirely sure, kid. I only have my own experience and Raditz's experience, from what he told me. It's not like I grew up with Saiyans to truly understand the phenomenon," he said in a bitter tone, a brief look of hatred passing through his eyes. He glanced back at Gohan. "You could control it, boy?"

"Barely," Gohan admitted, wincing when he realized that if Vegeta wouldn't have been there, he had no real way of knowing what he would have done.

"The desire was there though?"

Gohan lowered his head in shame. "Yes," he admitted, his voice more quiet than a whisper. Vegeta grunted and gave a nod.

"We'll figure something out, kid," Vegeta said in a firm voice. "If you think I've spent all this damn time on this planet just for you to come and kill at your own will, you're sorely mistaken. I don't know how yet, but it'll be all right in the end."

Gohan looked up with a small, grateful smile. For the first time in his life, he didn't see Vegeta as an enemy, an ally, his father's rival, or even a friend.

He saw him as a father figure.

Vegeta caught the look the teenager was giving him and rolled his eyes. "Bah. Spare me, kid," he sneered in complete disgust, making Gohan blink in surprise.

"I didn't even say anything, Vegeta," Gohan said in astonishment.

"You didn't have to. Now get up and let's get the hell out of here. I smell like garbage because of you," he grumbled, dusting himself off as if to prove his point.

Gohan slowly got up to his feet, and the two began walking further down the alley. Once Vegeta was sure that no one would see them, he took to the air, Gohan close behind. Gohan was shaken by what Vegeta had told him, but he trusted in the older Saiyan. Even though Vegeta was mumbling colorful curses for "Kakarot and his idiot spawn" during flight, Gohan still felt better that the older Saiyan was on his side. Vegeta knew how he felt and understood him. He would know what to do.

Or so he hoped.


	4. Days pass

Red-faced and caught in the crossfire, Gohan couldn't have sunk further into his seat if he tried.

"Absolutely not!" Chi-Chi screeched.

"It wouldn't be for very long, Chi," Bulma borderline pleaded. Though the two women got along marvelously most of the time, she knew very well that all bets were off when the topic came to Chi-Chi's boys. In fact, she was fairly certain that if Chi-Chi could encapsulate Gohan and Goten and take them with her everywhere she went, she would. "Vegeta and I both agree that Gohan might need some time away from-"

"From what? From me?" Chi-Chi snapped.

"No, no, of course not," Bulma clarified. "That's not what I was going to say-"

"Look," Chi-Chi interrupted, raising her voice, "_I_ was the one who thought Vegeta might help set Gohan straight, okay, I admit that. I was _okay _with the sparring, but this? MY SON WON'T BE MOVING OUT OF MY HOME!" Chi-Chi turned her attention to the blushing 14-year-old boy sitting next to her. "Do I make myself clear, Gohan!" she yelled at him, making him wince.

"Chi-Chi, you're not even listening!" Bulma cried out in exasperation. "It's hard for Gohan being home right now, he needs to get away just for a little while-"

"Oh, it's hard for _him_?" Chi-Chi scoffed. "All he has to do is study! I AM THE ONE WHO HAS TO DO EVERYTHING IN THE HOUSE AND RAISE GOTEN! And then, as if THAT wasn't enough, I have to deal with _this_ boy's attitude problem!"

"I don't have an attitude problem," Gohan mumbled under his breath. Impossibly, he sank further down in his seat when Chi-Chi shot him a furious look. "Sorry," he offered half-heartedly, frowning and looking off to the side.

"Oh you have an attitude problem all right, mister-"

Bulma decided to try again, "Okay, Chi, why don't you just calm down-"

"DON'T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!" Chi-Chi hollered.

"Hey! Don't raise your voice with me, I'm not your son!" Bulma yelled back, her blue eyes blazing with anger.

"No, but you're trying to _take_ my son!"

"No I'm NOT! Believe me, Trunks gives us all we can handle as it is! We're just trying to help-"

"You've done enough to help. Gohan is not your problem to _solve_," Chi-Chi shot back, standing up now. She looked over at her teenage son, "Go get your brother. We're leaving."

"But, Mom-"

"_NOW_, GOHAN!" Chi-Chi roared.

"What is going on here?" Vegeta demanded gruffly as he walked into the kitchen. He scowled when he took in Gohan's obvious embarrassment, before glancing at Chi-Chi. He then looked over at Bulma, his dark eyes impatient and annoyed. "The whole damn continent can hear you two banshees screaming," he said snidely.

"_Don't _start, Vegeta," Bulma told him with a glare, raising a finger in warning. "Now is not the time for your bullshit."

Vegeta glared at his mate for a few seconds before grunting. "Why is this woman still here?" he demanded, gesturing to Chi-Chi.

"Um, excuse me, I _am_ here, you know. You can actually talk to me and ask me yourself," Chi-Chi said with an indignant huff.

"I opted to ask the intelligent woman in the room instead," Vegeta bluntly said as he walked over to the refrigerator and opened the door, not even bothering to look at her.

"What!" Chi-Chi screeched, slamming her palms down on the table as she stared a hole into Vegeta's back. "I am not _stupid _if that's what you're insinuating!"

"Well, you _did_ marry that imbecile, Kakarot. Naturally, your intelligence must be questioned," Vegeta sneered as Chi-Chi's jaw dropped and her face turned bright red.

"Hey, don't talk to my mom like that, Vegeta," Gohan cut in angrily.

Vegeta snorted, digging in the fridge for a fresh water bottle. "Or _what, _kid?"

"EVERYONE, let's all just breathe and calm down. We're all rational adults here, we can talk this over," Bulma said, straightening in her seat. She motioned for Chi-Chi to sit back down, offering her friend a smile. "I'm sure we can come up with an arrangement that will make everyone happy."

"The boy comes with me then while you two have this discussion," Vegeta said, pulling out a water bottle and shutting the fridge door. He turned around and made eye contact with Gohan. "Let's go, kid."

"This discussion is about Gohan, he should be here to listen," Bulma argued.

"The brat has had enough dignity stripped from him for today, woman," Vegeta argued back, scowling at Bulma. "You two can stay here and discuss your trivial arrangements by yourselves. The boy needs to train, not sulk like a small child." Gohan's knee started jittering in anticipation as he looked over at his mother, as if for permission. Vegeta practically snarled in disgust at the sight. What the hell was that woman doing to the boy? How was it possible to have the strongest being on the planet as your son and not cultivate such a raw power?

"You stay right where you are, Gohan, do you hear me?" Chi-Chi told her son, taking a seat next to him. She gave him a stern look that he knew better than to disobey.

"You come with me immediately, boy," Vegeta ordered, giving Gohan a hard look that could have cracked glass from its intensity.

"Vegeta," Bulma started, her eyes pleading with her husband to not make things worse, "I really don't think right now is a good time-"

"Silence, woman!" Vegeta snapped. "This is between Saiyans, not humans." Bulma rolled her eyes and sighed; it was the line he always gave when he wanted her to butt out when it came to Trunks. Never mind the fact that Trunks was half-human. Mentioning that fact only pissed off her other half, so she bit her tongue here. Vegeta shifted his gaze back to Gohan. "Don't make me repeat myself, boy."

"Don't you _dare _go anywhere, Gohan," Chi-Chi warned.

Gohan hesitated only for a moment. Even though his mother was the most intimidating woman he knew (and that was saying something when you knew Bulma Briefs), Vegeta was much worse. At least he could outrun his mother's rage if necessary. He was sure Vegeta, on the other hand, could and would track him down in hell if need be.

"Sorry, Mom," Gohan sheepishly said as he stood up from his chair. He shot Bulma an apologetic look, before heading over to Vegeta. Chi-Chi watched and exhaled through her nose in anger.

"Fine then, you're GROUNDED, mister! And as soon as we get home, I'm going-"

Vegeta roughly shoved Gohan out the backdoor, sending the teenager sprawling forward on the grass. The prince quickly closed the door behind him, gratefully ending Chi-Chi's onslaught. He scowled at Gohan who turned over and sat up. Gohan smiled a little, not bothered in the least that Vegeta had practically made him eat grass only seconds ago. He was more grateful than anything for being saved.

"How you didn't kill that woman as a child is the mystery of the universe," Vegeta mumbled.

"She's just overprotective, that's all," Gohan said, getting back up to his feet.

"Ridiculous. You are a Super Saiyan," Vegeta scoffed in disgust. He shook his head and turned to head over to the gravity chamber, closing his eyes and chugging down his water bottle along the way. Gohan dusted himself off and instantly began following him.

"Do you think she'll let me stay?" Gohan asked curiously. He shot a look over his shoulder, thankful that he wasn't caught in that madness anymore.

Vegeta took a few moments to finish the water bottle, before grunting and tossing it to the grass. "Bulma will wear your mother down," he grumbled with a scowl. "That devil woman is talented at it."

"Do you think we should just tell her the truth?"

"Yes, let's tell her that her precious boy is a murder machine that's craving the spill of blood. Why don't you do the honors?" Vegeta asked snidely.

"Yeah, I guess it's not that great of an idea," Gohan chuckled. "How long do you think it will take Bulma to convince my mom to let me stay?"

"I do not know."

"But what if my mom won't let Bulma convince her and I have to-"

"Kid, shut up."

Gohan frowned, exhaling slowly through his nose as Vegeta opened the door to the gravity chamber. As soon as he did, Trunks and Goten instantly scrambled up to their feet. Both boys shot each other a nervous glance, before looking up at Vegeta with anxious looks on their faces.

"What is going on here?" the prince demanded, eyeing the boys suspiciously. "I thought I told you two brats to stretch and warm up."

"We were just waiting, Papa!" Trunks said, forcing a grin on his face. Goten nodded enthusiastically, biting his bottom lip with his eyes widening in fear. Gohan snickered a little from behind Vegeta. He knew his brother and Trunks well, and could smell their lie a mile away.

"Were you brats playing with the gravity simulator again?" Vegeta growled angrily, already seeing one compartment of the control panel open. Trunks saw what his father was looking at and stepped in front to block his view.

"No," Trunks said, shaking his head. Vegeta crossed his arms and gave him a fierce glare.

"Lying now, I see… well, we'll have to remedy that, now won't we?"

Goten cracked first, borderline bursting into tears. "Geta, we broke simulator! Sorry! Don't blast us!" he yelled, covering his eyes with both hands.

"Blast you?" Vegeta asked with a smirk. "It's tempting, boy, but no. Your punishments will be worse."

Gohan tensed at his words, not knowing what Vegeta's usual protocol was when it came to discipline. He was a little uneasy though at the thought of Goten being punished by Vegeta. When he saw the Saiyan prince advancing on two frightened boys though, he clenched his fists.

Vegeta stopped walking when he sensed Gohan's power level rising. He looked over his shoulder at the teenager and frowned at him. "What exactly do you think I'm going to do, boy?"

"I don't know," Gohan answered honestly with a scowl of his own. "Fight them?"

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, looking at the two boys in front of him. "The brats would like that."

Trunks' eyes widened with hope. "Can we fight?" he asked enthusiastically.

Goten peeked through his fingers up at Vegeta, the same hope shining in his own dark eyes. He wasn't as advanced as Trunks, but he was a very fast learner and was picking up things on his own here and there. Today, hell had frozen over because Vegeta had actually suggested training both boys at the same time. Though the older Saiyan had his own motives (such as seeing how far along Kakarot's youngest brat was to see where Trunks measured up), Goten was happily oblivious and incredibly excited for the chance to fight with Vegeta.

That was all going up in smoke now though… he _knew _he shouldn't have listened to Trunks and tampered with the gravity simulator…

"No," Vegeta answered flatly. Before the boys knew what was happening, they were both lifted off the floor. Vegeta had moved faster than either boy could see and now had Trunks lifted by the back of his shirt in one hand, and Goten in the other. He lifted them both up so they were eye-level with him, scowling at both of them. "I've told both of you demon children not to touch the gravity simulator. Now as your punishment, neither of you will fight with me for three whole days."

Trunks whined, "But, Papa-"

"But nothing, boy," Vegeta snapped, walking past Gohan to the door while carrying Goten and Trunks by their shirts as if they were two shopping bags. "If you two had engaged the gravity simulator to full capacity, do you know how much shit both of your mothers would have given me?"

"Oooh! Geta said a swear," Goten giggled.

Vegeta growled and threw both boys right out of the gravity room. He immediately closed the door. "Pain in the ass kids," he muttered, before hearing a snicker behind him. He turned and faced Gohan directly, giving the teenager a hard glare. "And just what is so funny, boy?"

"That was your big, bad punishment? Not letting the boys train with you?" Gohan asked, an easy smile spreading over his face.

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, looking over at the tampered control panel. He walked past Gohan on his way over to observe the damage. "The woman told me once that the worst thing I can do to my son is leave him alone. But then again, I'm sure Kakarot has already taught you that lesson, hasn't he?"

Gohan's smile slowly disappeared, his eyes darkening with anger as his cheeks burned red. He had never allowed anyone to blatantly disrespect his father before, but what could he say? Vegeta was right. His father had left him with nothing but a half-assed explanation, off to train in a different world while he was left alone.

His eyes were tearing up with both rage and a deep pain that he couldn't bury. Gohan didn't notice until Vegeta's voice broke into his thoughts.

"If you're going to cry, then you'll be the next one I throw out, boy," the Saiyan prince snarled angrily. He had been patient with the teenager before but the sight of someone as powerful as Gohan crying for someone as pathetic as Kakarot made Vegeta's stomach churn. Gohan blinked in surprise and started wiping at his eyes with both hands.

"Sorry, it's just hard-"

"Life is hard. Big fucking deal," Vegeta said with disgust, his back to the teenager as he eyed the random pulled cables sticking out of the control panel. He had only been gone a few minutes! What the fuck had those blasted kids done to his precious gravity simulator? Sighing, he dismissed Gohan's pain with an indifferent wave of his hand. "He's gone. Dead. Never coming back. Time to start dealing with it."

"You don't understand!" Gohan yelled indignantly, clenching his fists. Vegeta turned his head slightly so he was eyeing Gohan out of the corner of his eye, his face expressionless. "He left me and my mom, and she was pregnant! He had a choice, and he chose…" his voice broke.

Vegeta frowned, remaining silent for a few moments. He watched Gohan try to regain his composure and grunted, turning his head forward again. He took a deep breath, so as not to choke on what he was about to say.

"Kakarot might be a fool, boy," he finally said, his voice guarded. "But I do not think he knew his woman was pregnant when he made his decision." His face cringed in disgust. He had actually defended that idiot, Kakarot! It left a horrible taste in his mouth.

"Well that's just great then," Gohan said sarcastically, furiously wiping the tears from his eyes. But as soon as he did, new ones were there. "I wasn't enough. My mom wasn't enough."

"Obviously not," Vegeta snorted, as if it was common knowledge.

Gohan stared at the older Saiyan from behind, not believing how cold and indifferent Vegeta was being. How could he be so dismissive of his pain? Clenching his fists even tighter, his power starting to rise against his will, Gohan decided to hell with staying there with Bulma and Vegeta.

"Fuck this," Gohan sneered angrily, turning around and walking towards the door. "I'm leaving."

"You are not going anywhere, boy," Vegeta snarled. "We are going to have a spar."

"No, we're not!" Gohan yelled back, spinning around to face Vegeta.

They stared at each other silently. Vegeta observed the teenager's bloodshot eyes, and the tears swimming in them. His scowl deepened at the sight of those tears. He knew that the boy was hormonal due to his age, and also extremely on edge due to not having satisfied his Saiyan thirst for blood. Even still, Vegeta didn't care. He was getting tired of everyone shedding tears for someone who didn't deserve them.

"You are pathetic, kid," Vegeta finally said, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"You just don't fucking UNDERSTAND!" Gohan screamed, unconsciously transforming into a Super Saiyan.

"Of course I do, you stupid boy," Vegeta snapped, starting to get genuinely pissed. "I understand your situation perfectly because I lived through it."

Gohan pointed an accusing finger at him. "All you've ever done is hurt people. You don't know what this is like! He's my _father, _and he left-"

Vegeta released an infuriated howl, making the transformation to a Super Saiyan before Gohan could finish his sentence. He raised one palm in Gohan's direction, glaring hard at the shocked teenager standing before him.

"I will only tell you this once, boy," Vegeta growled, "Do not ever assume that you know a goddamned thing about what I do or do not understand, or what my life was like before I arrived on Earth. You want to bitch and cry because your father left you? At least you still have your home, your mother and brother, and others who give a damn about you like Bulma. You think the fucking universe owes you something, but you're wrong."

Struggling to keep his footing in this argument, Gohan racked his brain and blurted out, "But, he abandoned me-"

"Just like my father did to me."

Gohan blinked in surprise. "What?"

Vegeta's glare turned murderous. "My father handed me over to Frieza as a child. He could have waged war instead of handing me over. We would have all died, of course, but at least we would have died with dignity and he would have spared me the hell that was my rotten childhood. He took the coward's way out. He had a choice, just like Kakarot. That was his choice."

"I'm sorry," Gohan said, suddenly feeling very ashamed of his words. Vegeta was right, he had been making assumptions. He lowered his head a little and sighed. "How did you get through it, Vegeta?"

_Bulma. Trunks. Time, _Vegeta's mind answered automatically. He frowned as he lowered his hand, and for the briefest moment, wondered what it would be like if he didn't have a family… almost as quickly as the thought came up, he rid it from his mind.

"Days pass," he finally said with an impatient shrug. "Can we spar now, or do you have more you want to _talk _about?"

Only now did Gohan finally realize that he was also a Super Saiyan. He sighed in dismay. "I didn't even notice that-"

"I know."

"But how could you-"

"Because I was watching you with these things called my eyes, you stupid imbecile," Vegeta snapped angrily. "Look. We will figure out a plan on what to do to satisfy your desire for blood. You will get through that, and you will get over your father's death. Now, let's spar already so it takes the edge off the thirst, before you kill Trunks."

Gohan's eyes widened a little. "I wouldn't kill Trunks, Vegeta! Geez…"

Vegeta smirked. "You're right… Bulma would probably kill you first."

Somehow, Gohan had no doubt about that.


	5. Long nights

_Side effects._

What an understatement.

Gohan had his eyes shut tightly closed, his face buried against the mattress in his room, his hands tight fists as they gripped his pillow which was pulled over the back of his head. He currently had an absolutely excruciating headache that no amount of pills or sleep could alleviate. Bulma had helped a little by soundproofing his room to give him a little relief, but it wasn't enough. Even opening his eyes was painful, but he could do nothing except try his best to endure.

He'd been staying with Bulma and Vegeta for a month now, but this past week had by far been the most trying of his life. His appetite had dwindled down to nothing, he couldn't sleep, the headaches were getting worse by the day, and that was to say nothing about the way his control over his own power was plummeting to frightening levels. All he had to do was be in the presence of another and he could practically hear the calling in his blood, singing to him to slaughter, his volatile ki flaring up even as his horrified mind fought desperately to rein his bloodlust in. The last time he'd joined the Briefs for dinner had resulted in Vegeta dragging him away from his family and out back into the gravity room, where Gohan had fallen to his knees, his entire body shaking uncontrollably with need. The last thing he remembered was a white hot blind rage searing through him as his ki exploded into an agonized Super Saiyan transformation that felt like it was going to burn him alive. The next thing he knew, he was waking up in the spare bedroom that was temporarily his, alone once again.

Ever since that night, Vegeta was the only one he ever saw on a regular basis. He knew deep down that the Saiyan had likely forbidden Bulma and Trunks from interacting with him, even though Vegeta had never told him so. Still, the fact that he couldn't interact with anyone other than the Saiyan prince (who was hardly a conversationalist) was wearing on Gohan emotionally. He missed his brother and his mom. He missed Piccolo. He missed his dad.

_Ride it out, kid, _Vegeta had told him. _It'll get easier._

_Liar, _Gohan brooded miserably, his fists tightening on his pillow. _It's only getting worse._

That was especially true since he hadn't been able to spar with Vegeta that day since Bulma hadn't allowed it. The two sparred almost religiously every day ever since Gohan had moved in, but the day before had been bad. Trunks and Goten had been wrestling right outside of the gravity room where Gohan and Vegeta had been engaged in a fierce Super Saiyan battle that was looking like it was going to end in a draw, when Trunks suddenly sent Vegeta a telepathic message that had distracted the prince. Gohan had already been aiming his blow and Vegeta couldn't recover in time for a defense. The end result was the teenager damn near shattering Vegeta's ribs with a direct, violent kick that left the older Saiyan falling to his hands and knees, coughing up an alarming amount of blood.

Every Saiyan instinct inside of Gohan had climbed up to the surface when he saw Vegeta weakened in front of him, whispering in his mind to finish his enemy once and for all. _Except Vegeta isn't my enemy!_ his mind had desperately argued, though the adrenaline rushing through his body and his heart pounding in his chest already had him unconsciously powering up.

He didn't know how things would've ended if Trunks hadn't scrambled into the gravity room at that precise moment. The boy wanted to proudly share with his father that he had bested Goten in a brawl of their own, only to see Vegeta slowly and painfully getting up to his feet while favoring his left side. The sight of Trunks worried over his dad, even though Vegeta was telling him he was fine, was enough to break Gohan's rage. It was all Gohan could do to turn around and leave, though as soon as he was alone again in his room, he'd gone straight into the bathroom and vomited. He'd stayed in the bathroom for hours after that, shaking uncontrollably as he sat back against the wall, wishing more than anything that things would just go back to normal.

Gohan groaned against his mattress, feeling like someone was drilling an icicle into each of his temples. The daily sparring with Vegeta did wonders to take the edge off, and missing out on that opportunity today was making him feel so much worse than normal.

He tempered his pain by reminiscing on better times. Simpler times. Before Cell, before the androids, before Frieza, before his uncle Raditz. Back when it was always just him and his dad. Back when he was like Trunks was with Vegeta – looking up to his idol and his hero.

_Some hero he turned out to be…_

* * *

Bulma looked her husband over as she sat on the edge of their bed. Vegeta was lying on his right side, sound asleep, his left arm protectively around his injured left side that was bandaged. He had grumbled and cursed a bit, but in the end, hadn't put up too much of a fight when she told him to take the day off from sparring with Gohan. She suspected that he was in a little more pain than he was letting on, especially when she heard the raspy way he was breathing in his sleep. It almost made her hesitate to wake him, but it was getting late and Gohan hadn't eaten all day.

More than a little concerned over the teenager, Bulma was tempted to bring the boy food herself and check in on him. She would have done it too, if Vegeta hadn't made her swear to him that she would stay away from Gohan until the condition that was ailing the teenager had finally passed. Vegeta had taken it upon himself to be fully responsible for the teenager, and had even declared it so to Chi-Chi. It was the reason why Chi-Chi had finally agreed to allow for the new living arrangement, even though she was still in the dark as to the true reasons for Vegeta's vested interest. They all figured that was for the best.

Bulma reached over to her husband, gently massaging him in the soft spot right under his ear. He briefly raised an eyebrow in his sleep, before muttering something under his breath. Bulma leaned in closer to him, raising her hand and running it through his hair to rouse him.

"Vegeta."

"Hn."

"You have to go check on Gohan," Bulma told him softly, watching as he scowled and raised his hand up to his eyes to rub the sleep out of them. "How do you feel?"

"Fine. Time's it?" he asked, his voice rough.

"It's almost ten. You said he didn't want to eat anything for lunch or dinner, but it's been a while now since he's eaten. Can you go check on him before it gets really late?" Vegeta exhaled through his nose in exasperation as he continued rubbing his eyes, and she could practically hear his train of thought. "I could take care of him myself, you know," Bulma said, her hand still running through his hair. "I know that this isn't exactly what you signed up for."

"Damn right it isn't," Vegeta growled. Bulma pulled away from him as he slowly forced himself to sit up using his right arm, his left going around his side again. "But there's no other choice, woman. You know that," he grumbled.

Bulma sighed, before looking him over, her blue eyes going to his bandaged side. "Well, I suppose," she said in a tone that immediately got his attention.

Vegeta glared at her. "Bulma…" he said, warning in his voice.

"What?" Bulma asked innocently. "I was agreeing with you."

He gave her a knowing look. "Stay away from the brat, woman. Unless you want to die, that is. If that's the case though, all you really have to do is ask me and I'll gladly fulfill the request."

"Aw, I love you too," Bulma snickered, knowing his threats were empty. She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on his lips.

Vegeta growled and was going to respond when he suddenly broke out coughing harshly. He turned away from her and raised his left forearm to his mouth as he hacked away. His face turned red and his eyes started to water while Bulma reached over and rubbed his back soothingly, watching him in concern.

"I shouldn't have woken you up," she said guiltily. "Why don't you just stay here and rest while I go-"

"No," he interrupted, his voice raw as he squinted angrily at her. "We've already discussed this, woman. You gave me your word."

"I know, but I've known Gohan since he was five years old," Bulma persisted. "It would only take a little bit to make sure he's alright-"

"You stubborn, miserable wench," Vegeta sneered at her. "I really should just allow you to go, so the boy can kill you for good. It would take the edge off his thirst for blood completely, and you'd also be out of my hair forever. Win-win."

"Okay,_ first _of all," Bulma growled at him, poking him on his bare chest. "Gohan wouldn't be killing a damn thing. And second of all, rest assured that if you _ever_ allow me to die before you for any reason other than old age, I will haunt your sorry ass for the rest of time."

"Oh? And how would that be any different from now, I wonder?"

Bulma leaned in close to his face, her eyes blazing, "You're lucky you're hurt, you jerk. Otherwise I would hurt you myself."

Vegeta cocked an eyebrow in intrigue. "Well now, aren't we feisty tonight?" he almost purred, giving her a thorough, heated once-over.

Bulma had no time to react before she suddenly found herself underneath him. He pinned her hands over her head and gave her a leering grin, and very suddenly, Gohan was the last thing on either of their minds.

Meanwhile, the teenager was in his room, having finally surrendered into a restless sleep when his senses picked up on someone close by. He painfully cracked one bleary eye open against the mattress, his pillow still over his head as he laid facedown. He was beyond exhausted; he just wanted to _sleep_, but his damn senses weren't letting him. He closed his eye and tried his best to ignore his migraine and get some sleep when he felt a poke on his arm.

Gohan immediately recoiled from the contact, reaching up to grip the pillow over his head tightly. His instincts were demanding that he reach out with his ki and kill the person on the spot, but he refused to give in. The effort was physically draining, and he started to shake from the strain.

"Go away, Trunks," Gohan growled in warning.

"No," Trunks responded with a scowl.

In the four-year-old's mind, this had gone on long enough. Trunks had been training with Vegeta for as long as he could remember, and he didn't appreciate Gohan swooping in and stealing all of his training time with his dad away from him. Trunks missed training with his dad, but he didn't know how to verbally express that to the prince. He didn't know how to articulate the jealousy that overwhelmed him when he saw Vegeta paying all this attention to Gohan and not to him. All he knew was that it wasn't fair; Vegeta was HIS dad, not Gohan's!

So why was Vegeta always going to check on Gohan, or to see if Gohan was hungry, or to fight with Gohan?

What about him?

His mom always told him that his dad did love him very much, even though Vegeta had never said those words to him. Trunks drew comfort from his mother when she told him to pay attention to Vegeta's actions and not his harsh words. But lately, Vegeta's actions were saying that he preferred Gohan over him, and that scared the little boy. He didn't want his dad to forget about him, and as much as he liked Gohan, he certainly didn't want to share his dad with him!

Truly his mother's son, Trunks had brainstormed a plan. His mom had told him that Gohan was going to be staying with them a while, because he was sick and he needed help. He wanted Gohan to go back home, and so he deduced that if he could help Gohan feel better, then the teenager would leave, and he'd be back to training with Vegeta on a regular basis.

With determination that was definitely inherited from his father, Trunks fearlessly crawled up on Gohan's bed and sat down crosslegged next to the teenager. He leaned forward and tried to see under the pillow, but Gohan was gripping it tight. Trunks frowned in puzzlement when he saw Gohan shaking badly, his earlier anger at the teenager faltering. It looked like he was really sick after all.

"What hurts, Gohan?" Trunks asked. He pulled the plastic bag he'd brought with him into his lap. "I got LOTSA medicine from Mama's bathroom."

"Go _away, _Trunks," Gohan borderline snarled, his eyes squeezed shut and his teeth grinding together.

Desensitized to harsh tones, Trunks was unfazed as he dumped the contents of his plastic bag into his lap. He dug around. Surely, something here would make Gohan feel better and then he could finally go back home, and things would go back to normal. He lifted up a random bottle of pills, frowning at it thoughtfully.

"This one is for your belly," he said, looking over at the pillow that was covering the back of Gohan's head. "Does your belly hurt?"

Gohan's face was red from his strain. He desperately tried sensing Vegeta out to send him a telepathic message to come get Trunks and take him away, but whatever the prince was doing, he was fully engrossed in and he wasn't receptive at all. Trunks, oblivious to what he was getting into, innocently focused on his task as he tried surfing through the various types of painkillers and medications in front of him.

"Oooh!" Trunks said brightly, making Gohan flinch. The little boy held up a bottle of muscle relaxants. "Mama gives this to Papa sometimes. This will make you feel lots bet-"

Gohan suddenly screamed in rage, his ki exploding and sending Trunks and the medicine flying. Trunks landed sitting on the floor, his blue eyes wide in shock at the teenager who was now kneeling on his bed. Gohan was breathing heavily, his face flushed as he stared at Trunks furiously. His right fist was clenched tight, a bright blue surrounding it that he wasn't even aware of, his eyes filled with tears of pure frustration and need that he was struggling to restrain.

"I said to go away, didn't I, Trunks," Gohan ground out through clenched teeth, the pulse around his hand growing with his power.

"I want YOU to go away," Trunks shot back angrily, wondering why the teenager was being so mean when all he wanted to do was help him. "You're hogging my papa and I don't like it!"

Gohan faltered a little at that, reason breaking through. He latched onto it desperately. "Look. I'm not trying to hog Ve-"

"He's MINE, not yours!" Trunks screamed at him as he got back up to his feet. "Get your own papa!"

Gohan's face darkened, the boy's words hitting a nerve. He was still struggling to come to grips with the fact that his father wasn't part of his life anymore. He didn't need it thrown back in his face, especially not by a little kid. He growled, pulling his trembling hand back – wanting to extinguish his ki even though he felt the need to release it.

"Get out of here, Trunks. Please," Gohan said, almost begging. He was at the end of his rope, and his control was slipping by the second.

"No!" Trunks yelled at him stubbornly, even though he saw the threatening motion and backpedaled in alarm until he had his back against the wall. Suddenly afraid, the little boy sent a mental shout to his father for help right as Gohan's restraint finally snapped.

Gohan lunged dangerously for the boy, but was intercepted before he made it there. The next thing Gohan knew, he was being slammed back against the wall opposite Trunks, an iron tight grip on his throat. The teenager winced at the impact, before finding himself looking into a set of furious teal eyes. Vegeta had blocked out Gohan's telepathy with ease, but he never blocked out Trunks. He knew Bulma hadn't appreciated being left high and dry before they could even get going, but he figured she would appreciate her son being killed even less. The prince glared at Gohan for a few seconds, before turning his head to the side to address his son.

"I told you not to bother Gohan, didn't I, boy?"

Trunks blinked, before lowering his head. He knew that tone, and he knew he was in trouble now.

"I'm sorry, Papa," he said sheepishly.

"Go to your room, _now_," Vegeta ordered harshly.

Trunks didn't need to be told twice. He scurried out of the room while Vegeta watched. Finally, the prince turned his attention to the teenager in front of him. Gohan had his hands on Vegeta's arm, the grip and the impact against the wall enough to snap him back to reality.

"I'm sorry," Gohan said genuinely, his face still red and his body still shaking. "You know I didn't mean to hurt him… I just… it's hard…" his voice broke in frustration.

"I know exactly how hard it is," Vegeta said, his voice deceptively calm. He leaned in close to Gohan's face, his eyes darkening as he continued, "But hear me when I tell you this. If you EVER come at my son again, I will forget our past allegiances and take you apart myself, your condition be damned. Understand?"

"I didn't mean to! I tried getting him to leave!" Gohan yelled in Vegeta's face. "What did you want me to do?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about practice some fucking self-restraint around my four-year-old son?" Vegeta snarled dangerously.

"DON'T YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE THAT IF I COULD?" Gohan roared in frustration, his tears from earlier coming back.

Vegeta stared at him before scowling and letting him go. Gohan sank down to the floor, his hands covering his face in shame. The prince watched him silently, before extinguishing his Super Saiyan transformation once he figured Gohan wasn't a threat any longer. He crossed his arms and looked down at the teenager, indecision on his features as he contemplated what to do.

"You said it would get easier," Gohan said dejectedly, his voice muffled by his hands.

"It will," Vegeta assured him.

"When?"

Vegeta hesitated, before looking off to the side. "Eventually."

"Eventually?" Gohan repeated in bewilderment. "What the hell kind of answer is that, Vegeta?"

"I don't fucking know, boy!" Vegeta snarled in frustration. "I don't know of anyone that's ridden this out without giving into the need to kill, so I don't know how much longer you'll have to endure."

"But you said that you knew what the side effects were. That means that you had to restrain too." Gohan finally lowered his hands and looked up at Vegeta, who was now tense.

"What's your point?" Vegeta demanded irritably.

"How did you handle it?"

There was silence for a while, before Vegeta admitted, "I didn't. Frieza kept me…" He briefly closed his eyes, gripping his fists tightly as he struggled with memories he wanted to forget forever, "…isolated…for a long time until I almost lost my mind. Then he unleashed me like I was his own personal weapon of mass destruction," he said with hateful bitterness.

Gohan winced at the mere thought. His sparring sessions with Vegeta helped make the days at least tolerable, but today had been horrible without that outlet for his aggression. He couldn't imagine experiencing more days like today in an endless stream with no end in sight.

They stayed in silence for a while, before Vegeta looked back down at him with a thoughtful frown. "You know, kid. We _could _always go into space and find a planet-"

"No."

Vegeta growled angrily at the interruption, "It's the only way."

"I said no. I won't do it," Gohan growled back. He glared up at Vegeta, "I can't believe you would even suggest it. I thought those days were behind you."

Vegeta snarled and hauled Gohan roughly up to his feet, slamming him back against the wall again in frustration. "Contrary to what you might _think, _boy, there are planets with citizens who are far less deserving of life than the lowest scum on Earth."

"It's WRONG, Vegeta!" Gohan snarled back. He angrily shoved Vegeta hard in the chest to make him back up, not missing the slight wince on Vegeta's face at the contact as he did. "It's wrong and I won't do it!"

Vegeta glared back at him, "It's not that black and white, brat. There are shades of gray that you aren't seeing. Some individuals simply do not deserve to live for the crimes they've committed."

"No," Gohan said firmly, making Vegeta throw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I know that what you're saying is true, Vegeta, but people can change. You changed."

"Have I?"

"Haven't you?"

Vegeta stared at Gohan for a few moments, before looking off to the side. In some ways, he most certainly had changed. He had… "settled down". His dark and violent nature that he had perfected for almost thirty years was buried deep inside, rarely ever strumming his consciousness these days. It was still there though, and he grappled with it as he thought about their current situation. He was more than willing to sick Gohan on another planet, he brooded, but the boy was right. Even if Vegeta picked a planet with the most despicable life forms, someone there could potentially be worth saving.

He sighed and rotated his neck in an effort to crack it. "So it seems," he finally answered sullenly, before looking back at the teenager in front of him. "Tomorrow, we'll get back to sparring. That seemed to help."

Gohan looked down at the prince's bandaged left side, and he hesitated in answering. The injury would be easy to exploit, and he didn't want the sight of Vegeta weakened in front of him again. The "spar" could turn ugly in a heartbeat.

"I don't know if it's a great idea, Vegeta," Gohan said quietly, wisely keeping his reasons to himself.

Vegeta snorted, having seen where Gohan's eyes went. "I can hold my own, kid," he sneered in disgust. "You just worry about keeping your hands off my boy and my woman."

"Well, alright," Gohan conceded with a sigh. "I'll try my best."

"I suggest you do more than try, if you know what's good for you." Gohan bit the insides of his cheek to stifle an angry response. He scowled at the threat in Vegeta's words, before simply nodding. Vegeta nodded back. "Good. I also have another idea that might help where no blood needs to be shed, but I have to talk to Bulma about that first."

Gohan nodded again, before saying, "I also think you should talk to Trunks. He's jealous."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow curiously. "Of what?"

"The time you're spending with me. He thinks I'm stealing you away from him."

Vegeta frowned at that. Yes, it did seem like he needed to have a talk with his son if that's how the boy was feeling, but that didn't mean he was looking forward to it. He wasn't good at that kind of thing, but he put that on the backburner for now.

"Don't worry. I will handle Trunks. Now come on, let's go downstairs so you can eat something. It's not good for a Saiyan youth not to eat," Vegeta said, before turning and heading towards the door.

"I'm not hungry," Gohan said, his fatigue starting to settle in.

"I didn't ask," Vegeta said snidely, standing by the door and crossing his arms as he glared at Gohan. "I let it slide before but you have to eat, boy. You have to keep your body strong. Now let's go."

Gohan sighed, before doing as he was told.

Twenty minutes later, Gohan was forcing himself to eat warmed up leftovers in the kitchen as Vegeta sat across from him. The prince was staring out the window, no signs of his usual impatience on his face as he lost himself in thought.

Gohan chewed the last of a chicken leg while watching Vegeta. He then swallowed and cleaned off his lips with a napkin, before quietly speaking up.

"Vegeta?" The prince looked at the teenager out of the corner of his eye, so Gohan continued, "Do you ever miss him?"

"Who?"

"Your dad."

Vegeta looked back out the window and fell into silence for what felt like a long time, before finally saying, "There is no point in missing someone who won't return."

"Yeah, I guess," Gohan conceded, thinking about his own father. He stared down at his food, picking at some potatoes mindlessly with his fork. He reached up and massaged one of his temples with his free hand, before sighing heavily. "I can't help it though. I miss my dad, you know?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes, but stayed silent. Gohan continued, "Sometimes, I wonder if he misses me too."

"Kakarot is a fool," Vegeta grumbled, practically tasting the disgust for his rival in his mouth. "You just have to learn to get by on your own, kid."

"But I _need _him."

"You don't _need _anyone except yourself," Vegeta growled, finally looking over at the teenager before him. "Being a father now, I can tell you the truth of things. And the simple fact is that your idiot father is the one who is missing out, boy. Not you. Always remember that."

Gohan blinked in surprise, never having thought of it like that. He frowned and looked back down at his food, poking at it numbly as he contemplated what Vegeta was saying to him. It was almost comforting to think of it that way, and for the first time in a long time, the lingering hurt and pain in his chest finally receded a little bit. His dad had made his choice, but perhaps at his own detriment. While Gohan had lost his father, Goku had lost far more: his wife, his two sons, and all his friends. If his father was too blind to see that he was the one who was missing out, then why should he have to carry that burden?

"Are you going to fucking finish that food or not, boy?" Vegeta snarled angrily, startling Gohan back to reality. "I have to check on Trunks, and then finish some business that you interrupted."

"Oh, right… no, I think I'm done."

"Good," Vegeta said, swiftly getting up to his feet. All this bullshit emotional talk was wearing down on him, and all he wanted to do was hunt down his beautiful wife, get laid, and then go to bed. But first, he had to check in on Trunks. If the boy wasn't asleep already, then they would have a discussion. If he was, then it would have to wait until morning.

He followed Gohan upstairs, grumbling under his breath about being a goddamn babysitter. Not for the first time, he cursed Kakarot for his decision to remain in the afterlife. Regardless of what Bulma said, he felt an awful lot like he was temporarily adopting both Gohan and Goten, and it was honestly exhausting.

Vegeta watched Gohan head into his room, and was turning around to go check on Trunks when the teenager called out to him.

"Hey, Vegeta?"

Vegeta sighed and turned back to him. "What now?" he demanded.

Gohan gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Whatever," Vegeta muttered in disgust, turning and walking away. _Damn kid._

He finally paused in front of Trunks' door, and stared at it in silence, frowning as he tried his hardest to think of what to say to his son if the boy was awake. Finally, he cracked the door open softly, poking his head in.

Trunks was sound asleep, sprawled out on his stomach, his Transformers blankets thrown to the floor. Vegeta leaned on the doorframe, looking at his son with a quiet sigh. He had cut their training time together down to nil with Gohan there, and that was almost 80 percent of the time he and Trunks spent together. Deep down, he reluctantly conceded that he had to spend some more time with his son so the boy wouldn't feel an inadequate emotion such as jealousy. It was absurd for him to feel that way. Trunks and Bulma were the only two that Vegeta actually cared about. It bothered him more than he could say that Trunks would ever feel like he was second to anyone.

Vegeta walked over quietly and picked up the blankets that were on the floor. Brushing them off, he laid them over Trunks to cover him. He put a hand gently on the back of his son's head for a few seconds, before pulling away. He gave him one last look before leaving the room and closing the door silently behind him. He briefly thought of what he would say to Trunks tomorrow, and then wondered what he was going to do with Gohan. Finally, he decided to put all that aside for the time being.

After all, he had business in his bedroom that needed tending to.


	6. Getting control

Vegeta was sitting on the bathroom counter the next morning, his left arm raised over his head while Bulma gingerly removed the bandages from his injured side. He was looking away, tracking Gohan's ki like he'd been doing all day since he woke up. The boy was still in his room, in what Vegeta could only imagine was an uneasy sleep from the random spikes in his power level. Nonetheless, Vegeta continued his surveillance from afar. He was not planning on being caught off guard like the night before.

He could almost hear Bulma wince when she saw the bruising on his side, which had no doubt worsened from the day before. He glanced back at her from the corner of his eye as she leaned in closer to examine him.

"Vegeta, sweetheart, are you sure that you don't want any painkillers?" she asked him worriedly. "This looks like it hurts."

"There is no pain. Just bandage it," he ordered.

Bulma sighed as she picked up the fresh bandages the infirmary sent up for him. He had several broken and cracked ribs, which he had accurately guessed before she made him get an x-ray done to confirm it. That was about as much treatment as he would allow, saying he preferred to let things heal on their own time. He did heal much faster than humans, but that did little to set her mind at ease as she worked on taping the new bandages over his bruises.

"What time is it?" Vegeta asked.

"Just past eight."

"After you finish, I will have something to eat and then I will spar with the boy."

"Trunks?"

"No. Gohan."

"Um, you're joking, right?"

"No. He needs an outlet. I will give him one."

They fell into an awkward silence after that. She worked with the diligence usually reserved for very fine circuitry, making sure she didn't hurt him, even though she knew from experience that he had a ridiculously high level of pain tolerance. She felt his eyes lingering on her, but he said nothing, and she didn't either, keeping her eyes on her work.

Finally, she smoothed out the tape on his skin. Without looking him in the eye, she went to put the rest away, when Vegeta suddenly grabbed her by the elbow and roughly pulled her back to him so she was right in front of him.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, yanking her arm free. He put his hands on the counter next to him.

"What's wrong?" he demanded.

"Nothing." Honestly, she was pissed that he would even ask. It should have been obvious. She turned to leave when Vegeta hauled her back again.

"Don't you bullshit me, woman," Vegeta growled in warning.

"Will you stop pulling me like I'm your own personal yo-yo?" Bulma asked him in exasperation as she pulled free again.

"Will you just speak your goddamned mind and tell me what's wrong already? I might be a telepath but I cannot read mind your mind," Vegeta sneered.

"Fine. How's this? You have broken ribs and you are going to go spar against the boy who broke your ribs in the first place!" Bulma practically yelled in his face. "Do you _want _Gohan to hurt you again?"

"The boy will be hurting no one. The situation is under control."

"Oh, really?" Bulma asked him sarcastically. "Because Gohan could have hurt you a lot worse than he did. And he almost killed OUR SON last night, in case you didn't notice!"

Vegeta got down off the counter and was right in her face in less than a second, his eyes now burning with barely controlled rage. To her credit, Bulma didn't back down, fearlessly staring him right in the eye. He leaned in until their noses were almost touching.

"Don't you dare insinuate for one second that I am taking what happened yesterday with Trunks lightly," he snarled in warning. "I told Trunks explicitly not to approach Gohan, but he didn't listen. Maybe if _you_ disciplined the boy more, he wouldn't be so quick to disobey me."

"Oh, well isn't that rich. So this is all my fault now?"

"Well it certainly isn't mine!" he snapped at her as his voice started to rise. "Gohan is not my son and I have no obligation to the boy, in case you've forgotten. Maybe if his idiot father wouldn't have chosen some ridiculous adventure into the afterlife over his own goddamned family, then this wouldn't be my fucking responsibility, now would it!"

Completely livid now, Vegeta turned to storm out, when she caught his arm. He stopped and looked back at her.

"I'm sorry," she told him as he frowned at her. Bulma sighed and came over to stand in front of him again. "This whole situation is just frustrating, you know? I feel bad for Gohan. I know he doesn't want to hurt anyone, and I don't want something bad to happen to Trunks. And I don't want you to get hurt either trying to keep this all together."

"Everything is under control," Vegeta answered gruffly, before trying to sidestep her. She sidestepped with him, and when he tried to look away, Bulma took his face in her hands and forced him to look at her.

"Hey. Look at me. I'm serious. I care about you," she told him genuinely. Vegeta stared at her and said nothing, even though he felt some of his fight leave him when he saw the way she was looking at him. "So can you please not spar with Gohan until your ribs heal? Please?"

He was silent for a while, observing his wife. Finally, he sighed in defeat and pulled her close to him, signaling his surrender. Bulma hugged him gently around his waist as he whispered quietly in her ear, as if afraid someone might hear him.

"His control over his power is weakening every day. I think his ascension to the next level against Cell is making this worse for him. I am not sure if the kid can ride this out."

"What are you saying?"

"I might have to give him what he needs."

"Sparring?"

"Killing."

"Vegeta…" Bulma started, pulling back from him. She studied him intently, before realizing, "You don't know what else to do, do you?"

Vegeta circled around her question as he continued, "It is the best way. We could go off planet together. I know some places I can take him-"

"I really don't think he'd go with you."

"Well, it wouldn't be up to him," Vegeta irritably responded. "I know the boy is not a killer in his heart, but we are running out of options. If things continue as they are, we will have to at minimum consider letting nature happen."

"But we don't have to let nature happen," Bulma mused out loud as she rubbed her chin. Her husband raised an eyebrow.

"You have an idea?" he asked, trying not to sound as hopeful as he felt.

"Maybe…"

* * *

A few hours later, Gohan was tossing in a restless sleep. He had kicked off the sheets and covers sometime during the night, and when that hadn't cooled him off, he'd stripped down to his boxers and cracked open the window for some fresh air. He was so exhausted and felt so terrible that it never quite sunk in that the massive amount of heat he was feeling was self-generated from his ki being so high. It was unconsciously much higher than it normally was, and being completely unable to keep it in check, he had no choice but to deal with it. It wasn't until the sun was rising that he finally fell asleep.

It was not the restful sleep he'd been praying for. Instead, his mind kept replaying his training with his father in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber – with one horrible twist. He kept seeing himself making his Super Saiyan transformation for the first time, and then slaughtering his own father. Vengeance? Retribution? For what, abandoning him? Yes, that was it. It felt good in the dream too, but that was so wrong. Gohan was laughing in his dream, but there were tears running down his face in his restless sleep.

Vegeta frowned as he looked down at him. Gohan's ki was rising and falling fast and without warning, and he was completely drenched in sweat as he breathed heavily. The prince was struck with a rare moment of sympathy for the boy. Once upon a time, that had been him. He knew exactly how miserable Gohan felt. He sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed, wondering how he got himself into these things.

Gohan was lying facedown, his face buried into his pillow which he was staining with his tears. Vegeta reached out to him and put his hand on the back of Gohan's neck to get a gauge on how high his temperature was. As soon as he made contact though, Gohan instinctively turned over and hauled Vegeta right into a punch that the older Saiyan never once saw coming.

Vegeta landed hard against the wall, bringing one forearm to wipe at his now busted lip. His eyes widened in surprise as Gohan let out a scream of frustration, his Super Saiyan aura enveloping him and then exploding around him.

Vegeta spat out a mouthful of blood, before saying in as calm a voice as he could, "Gohan, take it easy. I'm not here to fight you, kid," he tried reasoning. The last thing he wanted to do was push the boy to ascend to his maximum power, because he himself hadn't reached that level yet. He raised his hands in a peace gesture, but the boy's eyes were hazy with feverish delirium. It didn't even look like the kid was really seeing him.

"I know how hard it is, but you _have_ to maintain control," Vegeta spoke slowly.

Gohan bared his teeth. He wasn't seeing Vegeta. He was seeing his father telling him to control his power after the first time he made his Super Saiyan transformation.

"I'm not a fucking kid anymore. I don't need you to tell me what to do," Gohan snarled in a voice that Vegeta hardly recognized as his.

"Alright, I'll talk to you man to man then," Vegeta said, his voice neutral and calm. He hadn't transformed into a Super Saiyan simply because he didn't want to aggravate the boy, but he was ready to summon the necessary energy in a split second if needed. "If you don't regain control of your power, then I cannot help you with what you're going through."

"I don't need your help!" Gohan screamed at him. "I needed your help before, and where were you? Where were you when Piccolo died, and when I was fighting Nappa?" he yelled. Vegeta blinked at him, stunned into silence as Gohan continued, "And where were you when Recoome fucking broke my neck on Namek? You're never there, so don't try to be there for me now!"

The prince couldn't get a word out before Gohan launched himself right into him, sending them both crashing right through the wall. Gohan was the one, however, that landed hard on the grass. Vegeta instantly buried his right knee right into Gohan's throat to keep him down. Vegeta rasped for air as he held his left side protectively. He had recovered in midair and gotten the advantage, but that didn't spare him the hard impact through the wall. He spit out a mouthful of blood to the grass, before looking down at the teenager below him.

"Look at me, boy. I am not your father," Vegeta grit out. Gohan looked up at Vegeta, as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "Do you see me?"

"What?" Gohan choked out in a daze. He leaned his head back into the grass and groaned. He had a splitting headache. "Vegeta? What happened?"

There was silence for a few seconds, before the weight on Gohan's neck was gratefully removed. The teenager weakly reached up and held his head as his Super Saiyan aura disappeared. He was completely exhausted.

Gohan flinched when he felt a hand on his forehead. He squinted up to see Vegeta crouching in the grass next to him.

"Your ki is spiking your temperature. You have to regain control of it. It's making you sick and now you're seeing things."

"What?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. He grabbed one of Gohan's arms and roughly hauled him up so he was sitting. He put one hand over the teenager's eyes, and one on the back of his neck. He winced a little when he did; the boy's skin was practically combusting with heat. It was normal for a rise in temperature when powering up, but this extremity was far from normal.

"Breathe slow and deep," he ordered.

"What're-"

"Shut up and do as I fucking say, boy," Vegeta snarled at him.

Gohan did. After a minute or so, he finally felt that burning heat start to leave him. He sighed in relief, and unconsciously started leaning into Vegeta's hand that was covering his eyes. He had no idea what the Saiyan was doing to him, but for the first time in a while, he didn't hurt anymore.

"Thank you, Vegeta," he said quietly.

"Hn."

After a few minutes, Vegeta withdrew his hands. Gohan slowly blinked a few times. He looked over at Vegeta, who sat down heavily in the grass. Gohan frowned a little in concern. The prince looked as exhausted as the teenager felt.

"What did you do?" Gohan asked. Vegeta massaged his left side gingerly, feeling blood rising in his throat. That collision with the wall sure didn't help things, but it could have been worse, he supposed.

He glanced over at the teenager next to him, and answered his question with a question. "Feel better?"

"Yeah," Gohan said, rubbing the back of his neck. "How did you do that?"

"I used my ki to get yours under control."

"Oh, wow. Thanks, Vegeta," Gohan said gratefully, smiling a little at him. Vegeta grunted and turned away so the boy wouldn't see him spit more blood into the grass. "Where did you learn to do that?"

Vegeta looked down a little, and closed his eyes as he submerged the raging pain in his left side. Finally, when it became a little more manageable, he spoke. "The inability to control your power is a symptom only when you don't do what your body wants you to do."

Gohan nodded, and then ventured, "Someone helped you?"

"Nappa."

"Nappa?"

Vegeta nodded. "Even when I had the green light from Frieza to slaughter at will on his planets of choice, I still had to travel in the space pods to get there. Frieza refused to let me use a gas to let me sleep. Nappa would help me get my ki under control before we flew so I could last long enough to make it to the next planet. Otherwise, I would have torn my pod apart with the madness and died in space."

"Oh," Gohan said, blinking in surprise. "Yeah. That would have sucked."

"Yes, I imagine that would have sucked quite a lot," Vegeta remarked sarcastically.

"I never thought of Nappa as the kind of guy who would do something like that."

"You did not know him."

"Was he nice?"

"He was an idiot and a brute."

"Oh," Gohan said, more confused than ever. "But he helped you."

"Hn." Vegeta looked down and gently pressed into his side, trying to gauge if he had worsened his injuries. It didn't feel like it. "He had his moments of usefulness," he added distantly.

"He was your friend?"

"He was a fellow Saiyan."

"Sounds like he was a friend if he was helping-"

"That is enough about that fool," Vegeta cut off harshly. He got back up to his feet, and dusted himself off. "Now then. You are in full control of your ki for the next few hours. I suggest you use the time and get some sleep-"

Vegeta and Gohan both flinched in shock when they heard Bulma scream, "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO MY HOUSE?"

Vegeta looked over to see that his wife was in the spare bedroom that was Gohan's, and was glaring down at them both with her hands on her waist.

"He did it," Vegeta immediately said, pointing right at Gohan.

"Wow, way to throw me to the wolves, Vegeta," Gohan mumbled.

Vegeta sneered down at him, "I'm not dealing with that demon woman if I don't have to-"

"I HEARD THAT, VEGETA!"

"I said, I'm not dealing with that beautiful woman if I don't have to!"

"My ass that's what you said! See if you get any tonight, you jerk!" Bulma yelled down at him, before turning and disappearing from sight. "AND ONCE GOHAN STOPS TRYING TO GO RAMBO ON EVERYONE, HE'S FIXING MY HOUSE!"

Vegeta waited until she was out of hearing range, before growling under his breath, "Should've killed that goddamned woman back on Namek before she cast her spells on me-"

"Whoa. I did _that_?"

"What?" Vegeta asked irritably, pissed at having his train of thought interrupted. He followed Gohan's line of sight up to the hole in his bedroom. "Yes. That was you. You thought I was your father and you attempted to kill me. A poor attempt, in retrospect. What you should always do in that situation is-"

"Wait," Gohan said, rubbing his head and frowning in confusion. "You said I thought you were my dad?"

"That is correct. Apparently you hate him even more than I do."

Gohan lowered his hand and glared evenly at the prince. "I don't hate my father, Vegeta."

"Hn. Could have fooled me," Vegeta snorted. Gohan was going to respond when he felt a sharp pain in his head. He winced and rubbed at his temples. Vegeta observed him carefully for a few seconds before remarking, "Go back inside and get some sleep. Bulma and I are discussing some things we might be able to do to assist you."

Gohan brightened up a little at that. "Yeah?"

"Yes. But for now, you must get rest."

Gohan nodded, and slowly started to rise. It took him a few seconds. He felt unnaturally weak, but at least he was in control. He was rubbing his head when he heard Vegeta burst out into loud laughter. Gohan blinked and looked over at him through one eye.

"What the hell are you _wearing_, kid?" Vegeta asked as he tried his best to rein in his laughter. He coughed a couple of times even as he wore a smirk on his face.

Gohan looked down at himself. He was still in his boxers, but he hadn't realized that he was wearing the smiley face boxers his mom had bought him for his last birthday. His face flushed hot red in embarrassment.

"What?" Gohan huffed defensively. "It was a gift from my mom." Vegeta couldn't help it and he laughed out loud again while clutching his ribs, making Gohan blush even more. "Well it's not like anyone ever sees me in my underwear!" Gohan shouted.

"Yes, and it seems as though that is how things will stay until you are probably four times your age."

"What?" Gohan asked in confusion, as Vegeta's comment flew completely over his head.

Vegeta smirked and turned away, heading back to the house as Gohan slowly followed him. His smirk disappeared though when he wiped his mouth with his forearm, only to see his forearm smeared with blood. He cursed inwardly.

"Don't worry about it, kid. Come on, I'll give you a different room. You get some rest and we'll see if we have something figured out by the time you wake up."

"Alright," Gohan said, smiling a little in relief. Hopefully they could think of something.

He could barely make it up the stairs before his exhaustion overwhelmed him. He hardly even noticed when Vegeta grabbed him by the back of his neck to steer him the right way, much the same way he did with Trunks. Gohan was barely able to mutter an unintelligible "thanks" before he collapsed onto his new bed, and promptly fell into a deep sleep. Vegeta rolled his eyes and left the room, turning off the light on his way out.

Meanwhile, Trunks and Goten were playing tennis against each other on the Wii in Trunks' room. Trunks was much better at the game, since he was older and it was his game, but Goten was very quickly figuring it out. Trunks watched with wide eyes as Goten started getting hot.

"Yay! I'm gonna win!" Goten yelled. "I'm gonna win, I'm gonna win, I'm gonna-"

Trunks knocked Goten off-balance, and then won the last point.

"HA. I win! I win!" Trunks yelled.

"Trunks! You cheated!" Goten yelled at him.

"NO I DIDN'T!" Trunks yelled back, shoving Goten.

Goten then tackled Trunks and the two started brawling. That was the scene Vegeta walked in on. He frowned as he watched the two boys wrestle on the floor. Trunks latched Goten in a tight headlock, and then Goten did an impressive reversal to get out of it. Vegeta raised an eyebrow and observed them both for a while longer, before finally clearing his throat.

Goten and Trunks both immediately drew apart and stood up, facing him as they tried catching their breaths. Trunks in particular looked more than a little worried. He hadn't seen his dad since the night before, and he knew his father hadn't forgotten him disobeying him. His dad never forgot anything, unfortunately.

Vegeta eyed his son with a look the boy couldn't read, and then looked over at Goten.

"Go downstairs and get something to eat, kid. I want to talk to Trunks, alone."

"'kay," Goten said brightly, already forgetting about the scuffle with Trunks. He missed the look his best friend was giving him to please stay. Just as he was walking past Vegeta, the prince grabbed him by the arm.

"Do not go see your brother. He's sleeping and I do not want him disturbed. Understand?" Vegeta snarled down at the boy. His tone was harsher than it needed to be, but he couldn't help it. The kid looked too much like Kakarot.

"'kay, Geta, I won't," Goten said just as brightly as before, completely unfazed by Vegeta's hostility. Vegeta sighed and let him go, watching as the boy half skipped down the hall.

Vegeta then turned his attention to the matter at hand. He walked into the room, and could visibly see Trunks tense. The little boy was biting his bottom lip and looking down at the floor, bracing himself for whatever was in store for him. Vegeta sat down on the edge of Trunks' bed.

"Come here, Trunks."

Trunks slowly walked over and stood in front of his father. Vegeta sighed and crossed his arms.

"I told you not to bother Gohan, didn't I?" Trunks nodded, still looking down. Vegeta felt his anger rise as he snapped, "Look at me when I'm talking to you, boy, and answer me properly."

Trunks immediately looked up, and was almost caught off guard over the fact that he was actually eye-level with his dad. He got over it fast enough when he saw his father losing his patience, and so he answered.

"Yes."

"Why did you disobey me?"

Trunks meekly offered, "I wanted to help him."

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Help him?"

"Mama said he's sick. I wanted to make him feel gooder-"

"Feel better."

"I wanted to make him feel better."

"So he could leave?" Trunks' eyes widened over the fact that his father had practically read his mind. Vegeta nodded. "I thought so."

"I'm sorry," Trunks genuinely apologized. Vegeta blinked a little at how much he sounded like Bulma in that split second. He observed his son, who was biting his lip and watching him with apprehension.

"Look, Trunks," Vegeta started after a moment of thought. "What Gohan has, we cannot get rid of with medicine or things like that. He is having a hard time controlling his power. So when I tell you to stay away from him, it's because I don't want anything to happen to you. Do you understand?" he asked warily, not sure if he put it in simple enough terms.

"But I'm strong too and I can fight too, Papa," Trunks said with a frown. "You taught me how."

Vegeta actually smiled at that. "I know, kid, but Gohan is just a little bit stronger than you."

"Oh," Trunks said thoughtfully, digesting that information with a scowl. He looked up at his father quizzically, "But he's not stronger than _you_, right?"

"Not a chance," came the smug reply.

"I knew it! No one is stronger than you," Trunks said with clear pride in his voice. Vegeta regarded him carefully.

"Trunks… I am the only one who understands what Gohan is experiencing right now, so I'm helping him. I know that you and I haven't… what's wrong?" Vegeta asked in surprise when he saw tears forming in Trunks' eyes.

"Nothing," Trunks said, sniffing and brushing at his eyes.

Vegeta sighed and rolled his eyes. "So much like your mother," he grumbled, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He sighed again and lowered his hand, looking Trunks in the eye. "What is it, boy? Don't lie to me."

"Are you going to be Gohan's papa too?"

"No. I only have one son, and that's you, kid. That won't ever change-" Vegeta stopped and looked at his son in exasperation when the little boy covered his face with his hands. Shit. He was apparently not very good at this. "Now what?"

"You don't spend time with me anymore," Trunks' shaky voice was muffled as he tried hard not to start crying.

There was silence for a while, until finally, Vegeta sighed and stood up.

"Well then. There is only way to rectify that problem. Get dressed and meet me downstairs in ten minutes. Don't make me wait, boy."

Trunks lowered his hands and hesitantly smiled. "Really?"

"Ten minutes," Vegeta snapped, already walking off towards the door. "And as punishment for disobeying me, do not expect me to go easy on-"

"CAN I COME TOO, GETA?" Goten yelled as he barreled into the room. Vegeta paused, bit back a scathing comment, and finally grumbled his response.

"Talk about it with Trunks. It's his-"

"Yeah!" Trunks yelled out in excitement. "Then we could finish what we started!" With that, he tackled Goten.

Vegeta glared at both of them wrestling again on the floor. He might as well not have even bothered. Finally, he shook his head and left Trunks' room. He looked over and glared at his wife, who was standing a few feet away.

"Eavesdropping now?" he asked peevishly, before turning and walking the other way.

"Oh, don't flatter yourself," Bulma responded, peeking into Trunks' room and then going after her husband. "I was looking for you, and I happened to catch the tail end."

"Hn," Vegeta grunted, slowing down enough for her to catch up.

"You did great, you know."

"With which one? Feels like I have three boys instead of one."

Bulma smiled at him. "Don't worry, as soon as Gohan is better, you'll be back to having only two."

Vegeta shot her a nasty glare in response. "What did you find out about Gohan?"

"That's what I was coming to find you for. I think we might be able to build off my idea and do something for him."

"Well what are you waiting for, woman? Let's hear it."

"Alright, here goes…"


	7. Taking the risk

"Please, please, please?"

"No, no, no," Vegeta spat out bluntly, walking into his bedroom. Unfortunately for him, he had a three-year-old shadow right on his heels the whole way. He headed to the dresser, opened it, and started digging inside. He frowned when he didn't find what he was looking for.

"But 'Geta, I want Gohan!" Goten wailed behind him.

The prince hissed through his nose to keep his temper in check. He absolutely hated that fucking nickname that the boy called him. Unfortunately, the three-year-old version of "Vegeta" came out sounding WAY too much like "Vagina" for his liking. And Bulma had fiercely objected when he tried showing Goten how to say "Emperor" so he could call him that instead.

So he was stuck with the name - but he tolerated it _only _from Goten. And only because he was little. Once he hit five years old, the boy would be officially old enough to pronounce his name correctly; and if he still didn't, then he would be old enough for Vegeta to land a good hit on him without feeling any guilt. Win-win as far as the prince was concerned.

"Why don't you go bother Trunks and leave me in peace, boy?" Vegeta growled irritably. He moved to the closet and started rummaging in there, not even bothering to look at the boy behind him who was fighting tears.

"Trunks is watching Scooby Doo but I don't wanna watch Scooby Doo! It's scary!" Goten cried out in frustration.

The prince rolled his eyes. "It's just a television program, brat."

"I don't wanna watch it! I wanna see Gohan!"

"Well, you can't," Vegeta snapped.

"Why?"

"Because I said so."

"But," Goten said, sniffing as tears came to his eyes. "But I wanna-"

"You know what I want? You to get lost," Vegeta snarled in frustration. He was now on his hands and knees, only visible from the belt of his jeans down as he dug in a box. The woman had told him it was there in their bedroom, goddamn it! Why couldn't he find it? He grumbled curses to himself. She could have told him specifically where it was, instead of making it sound obvious like it was going to be on their bed in plain sight.

Vegeta closed his eyes and counted to five to calm down when he heard Goten start crying behind him. Releasing a deep sigh, he crawled backwards out of the closet, turned, and sat down facing the little boy. Goten had his red face covered with his hands.

"What have I told you about crying, boy? Do you not have Saiyan blood? Rid your tears at once!" Vegeta ordered harshly.

Goten sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. He looked up to see Vegeta glaring angrily at him. Other children his age might have been frightened to death by that look, but he had known Vegeta his whole life and spent a good chunk of time in his home. He was as used to Vegeta's intimidation as he was to Chi-Chi's, much to the prince's frustration.

"But, Trunks says Gohan's sick," Goten said, his eyes still filled with tears. He missed his big brother and wanted to see him, and didn't understand why no one would allow him to do so.

"He is," Vegeta said with a nod. "You will see him when he is better."

"But I miss him," Goten said, his voice breaking as he visibly struggled not to start crying again.

Vegeta regarded the boy in front of him for a moment. Finally, he shook his head and got up. He walked past Goten right back out of the room as he ordered, "Follow me."

Goten obediently did as he was told. He followed Vegeta all the way downstairs, to the living room, right to their big screen TV. Trunks was laying on his stomach on the carpet in front of the sofa, his chin in one hand, the remote in the other. He was kicking his legs up lazily behind him while he watched his favorite show.

Out of nowhere, the remote was snatched right out of his hand. Trunks blinked in surprise, before looking up at his father who was towering over him.

"Hasn't your mother told you to sit on the sofa when you watch the television?" Vegeta growled. Trunks immediately got up and scurried over, hopping onto the sofa. Vegeta glared at him for a moment, before looking to the TV. He raised the remote and changed the channel.

"Papa," Trunks whined. "That's my favorite!"

"Deal with it, kid. You always call the shots with what you and Goten watch and do. Well, today you will watch what _he _wants, and you will _like_ it," Vegeta sternly informed his son as he handed Goten the remote. The prince then turned around and walked away as Goten beamed happily.

"Yay!" Goten yelled out in excitement, forgetting all about his distress with Gohan. "I wanna watch Blue's Clues!"

"Hmph." Trunks slumped into the sofa and crossed his arms over his chest as he pouted. "Fine."

Vegeta had to hunt Bulma down in the downstairs labs until he finally found her. She had her goggles perched on her head in her private lab, frowning as she thoroughly examined the piece of equipment in front of her. She didn't notice her husband's presence as he stood directly behind her. Vegeta looked over her shoulder and frowned.

"Is it ready?" he demanded.

Bulma flinched a little in surprise, before looking over her shoulder at him. She looked past him. "Where's Gohan?"

"I couldn't find the device in our room."

Bulma sighed and shook her head, looking ahead. "I told you, it's in the nightstand."

"You said no such thing."

"I did. You just don't know how to listen," she told him, rolling her eyes.

Vegeta's frown deepened, before they both turned back to what she was looking at. "Well? Is it ready?" he asked again.

Bulma sighed. "I think so. But I wish you would let me run a few more tests before I use it on you and Gohan."

"Enough with the bullshit modesty, woman. It'll be fine. I'll go get the boy," Vegeta said. He turned to head out and get Gohan when Bulma caught his arm before he did. He turned back to her, sighing with impatience. "What now?" he demanded.

"Gohan's sleeping right now, right?"

Vegeta cocked his head to one side, was quiet for a moment, and finally nodded once. "Yes."

"He's been asleep all day?"

"Yes. It's tiring fighting that urge all the time. His body finally gave out to rest."

"Just let him sleep for now then. Chi-Chi is taking the boys with her when she comes for Goten, so Trunks will spend the night over there."

"She knows?"

"No," Bulma said, shaking her head adamantly. "She would freak out if she knew and it would just get messy. I just told her that he was tired from sparring with you and he crashed because of it."

"Hn."

"We'll try it tonight when the boys are gone."

"Fine." Vegeta turned to leave again, when Bulma tugged his arm again. He turned back to her with clear exasperation in his features. "Woman, you are trying my patience," he warned.

"Are you sure you're up for this? I can think of something else-"

"No," Vegeta immediately said, shaking his head. "This will help the boy-"

"I'm not worried about Gohan. I'm worried about you," she told him honestly, looking him right in the eye.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and pulled his arm free from her grasp. "Your concern is absolutely absurd. I will be fine, the boy will be fine, everything will be fine. The idea is completely foolproof. You had confidence earlier, so I do not understand your hesitation now."

"My idea was generic. It didn't involve you, just a made-up scenario. _You _were the one who suggested-"

"I know what I suggested."

"But, Vegeta," Bulma sighed, looking at him with concern. "You'll be much more at risk than Gohan will be. You're the one who has to-"

"Bulma," the prince said, cracking his neck a little as he closed his eyes. "A make-believe scenario is simply not enough. Gohan has to feel it, smell it, and be around it. He has to live it. It _has_ to be real if we want it to go away. I am the only one who can make it real. This is the only way, risks and all."

Bulma sucked at her top teeth a little, looking her husband over. Finally, she nodded. He was right. They would give it a go, and hope for the best.

"Alright."

Vegeta nodded. "Good. Tonight then."

"Yeah. We'll do it tonight."

"Everything will be fine," he told her again, giving one last nod of reassurance before turning and walking away. Bulma anxiously watched him leave, and then turned back to get things as situated as possible.

She sure hoped he was right.

* * *

Gohan frowned as he stirred. His hand immediately went to his head. He had the worst headache of his life. He kept his eyes closed as he gently massaged the side of his head, slowly sitting up in his bed. After a minute, he squinted over at the window. It was dark outside. Crap; did that mean it was late at night, or early in the morning? He had absolutely no sense of time and there was no clock in his bedroom. He closed his eyes again and lowered his head in his hands. He was sweating again, and he felt awful. Finally, he decided to just get up. Laying down was only making things worse.

He was getting dressed, buttoning up his shirt with trembling fingers and tremendous effort, when the door to his room opened. Gohan spun around and bared his teeth a little, his ki spiking at the sight of Vegeta. His body was registering the Saiyan male's presence as a threat, even though the teenager was actually relieved to see him. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands again as he sat down on the edge of the bed. He was struggling to keep himself under control even though his ki was still surging.

"You look like shit, kid."

Gohan said nothing, though he certainly felt like shit. He leaned back when Vegeta stood in front of him. He didn't want to lash out at the prince and hit him again. He didn't want to hurt him worse than he already had. He didn't want to hurt anyone.

Vegeta observed the teenager in front of him, scowling when he saw Gohan shaking. White hot ki was dimly glowing around Gohan's hands as the teenager struggled to keep his power in control.

"I got something for you, Gohan," he finally said, shifting a little closer to the boy. "This will help you."

"What is it?" Gohan demanded, his voice muffled by his hands. Without answering, Vegeta snatched one of Gohan's wrists and pulled it away from his face. The teenager blinked in surprise as the prince snatched his other hand as well.

"Like I said. Something that will help you."

"What?" Gohan asked in complete bewilderment as he looked down at his hands. The dim white glow of ki was gone, and replacing it was a pair of steel handcuffs now locked securely around his wrists, bound together by a chain. "How the heck is this supposed to help me?"

Vegeta tapped the steel around one of Gohan's wrists. "Try breaking through," he challenged in a smug voice.

Gohan tried yanking his wrists apart to snap the chain, and nothing happened. He frowned in puzzlement, before tugging harder to snap the handcuffs free. Still, they remained firmly locked in place. As a last resort, he tried using his ki to melt the steel, only to find that his ki that had been skyrocketing only moments ago was now non-existent. His eyes widened in surprise as he looked up at Vegeta, who was smirking down at him.

"These aren't regular handcuffs. These are ki absorbing handcuffs, kid. You won't break through them. Now I can bring you out of this room without having to worry about you assaulting my woman."

"Oh, wow. Bulma designed these for me?"

"No," Vegeta replied, his smirk spreading. "They were designed specifically for me."

"Really?" Gohan asked in confusion. "But why?"

Vegeta chuckled. "Marriage is about compromise, boy. I have to let the woman have her fun from time to time." His grin was devilish as he added, "Though it's enjoyable on my end as well, so I win either way."

Gohan's face suddenly flushed red, a disgusted look coming over his features. He looked down at the handcuffs again, and suddenly wished he wouldn't have asked. "Wow. That's pretty gross, Vegeta," he grumbled as his nose crinkled.

"One day, kid, your balls will drop and you will also have a woman. And when that time comes, you will want to borrow these. But I will say no, so don't even bother asking," Vegeta said with a snicker. He turned around and headed towards the door. "Now come. We have something that will help you."

Gohan got up slowly, feeling weak. He trudged towards Vegeta, who was standing at the doorway waiting for him.

"What are we going to do?" Gohan asked.

"We're going to give you what you need," Vegeta answered, turning and walking ahead of him. It was late, and Trunks was staying with Chi-Chi and Goten. Only Bulma was there with them, and she was downstairs in her lab again.

Gohan stopped walking and blinked a few times. "What?" he asked, stunned at the prince's words. "But I don't want to really hurt anyone, Vegeta-"

"Kid, just shut up," the prince growled in irritation.

Vegeta would be lying if he said that it didn't bother him how this boy could be so fundamentally against any kind of violence. Even now, when his hormones and his body physically craved it, Gohan was opposed to it. Fighting just wasn't in his blood. Oh, he was good at it; he was the best, if truth be told, Vegeta bitterly admitted to himself. And he surely enjoyed it while he was doing it. But the boy would never purposely seek a fight out. In fact, if there was never another threat to the planet, the prince doubted the teenager would ever fight again.

Vegeta couldn't help but feel disappointed about that. Gohan was one of three hybrid Saiyans, the only three in existence. But he was more human than anything. The prince only hoped that Trunks would be different. Maybe Goten too. Not violent to the extremes he had once been, but that they at least had the drive to fight that categorized all Saiyans. Even if it was only through sparring. Just something to keep the memory of his race alive.

Gohan stayed quiet as he slowly walked behind Vegeta. The prince was walking at a slower pace, letting Gohan keep up with him. The teenager couldn't help his anxiety over what they were planning. He would rather be locked up and suffer for however long was necessary rather than actually cave in. But that was what he needed, wasn't it?

"You know, Vegeta," Gohan quietly said as they walked down the last steps together. "I could go back to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Ride this out on my own-"

Vegeta laughed a humorless laugh. "You haven't been enduring for long, and you can barely handle it as it is. You will go mad if you do that, boy."

"It's a thought-"

"Oh? And how about _this_ thought?" Vegeta retorted, leading Gohan down a different flight of stairs to the labs below. "Let's say you do go back into that room. What if you learn to cope in your solitude, then come out, and fall back into the same problem because you are surrounded by people again? Then you will have wasted time in your life for nothing, and you will be back to square one."

Gohan sighed, and after a minute of silence, he finally added, "I guess."

"Let's see if this works. If it doesn't, we will discuss other alternatives."

"But you haven't even told me what we're going to do-"

"Because I will let the woman explain it," Vegeta answered as he entered one of Bulma's labs, with Gohan right on his heels.

The teenager stopped where he was, taking a step back when he saw Bulma there in the lab with them. He was afraid of hurting her, but his ki was still non-existent and that was helping him stay in control. Still, he couldn't help the anxiety that rushed through him, and the calling he was feeling in his blood to spill hers.

Vegeta subtly shifted over so he was standing directly between them. The older Saiyan's eyes narrowed a tiny fraction as he regarded Gohan, warning in his dark gaze.

If Bulma noticed Gohan's anxiety or Vegeta's protectiveness, she ignored it.

"Hey kiddo," she told Gohan brightly, leaning back in her seat so she could see around Vegeta. "How you feeling?"

Gohan nodded and gave a strained smile, even though his headache was coming back and there was fresh sweat breaking out on his skin. "I'm alright," he quietly answered.

"Good. We got something here that will help you out."

"What is it?" Gohan asked nervously, looking around and taking in the room for the first time. There was a slew of technology he hadn't seen before in addition to medical equipment. He frowned when he saw two examination tables.

Bulma adjusted a setting on a monitor as she began explaining, "Before Trunks was born, I designed a virtual reality simulator that would let you feel as though you were engaging in real fights. Everything felt real, down to the different smell in the air that you were breathing. It was for the army to train with.

"Well, it became a big hit, so I've been improving and expanding on it over the years. Whereas before, I was always designing the world you saw and the enemies you fought, now it's gotten even more realistic. Now we've developed a way for the simulator to link thoughts and memories between people." She briefly glanced at Vegeta, "Though we haven't _fully _tested it yet, it will still feel completely real. Only this time, the world you're in is completely supplied by another person."

"So…" Gohan started with a frown, looking between both of them, "Me and Vegeta…"

"We're going to use Vegeta's memories to provide you with a world that seems completely real," Bulma finally finished, turning to a different monitor and looking over those settings. "We're going to sync up your neurological signals so they are completely in tune with each other, and your minds will become linked. You'll have as much freedom as you want, and it won't impact Vegeta's thoughts or memories."

"That sounds crazy," Gohan said, blinking a few times as he tried wrapping his mind around it. He looked at Vegeta. "You're okay with that?"

"It's the only way," Vegeta grumbled, scowling as he looked away. "You will satisfy your urges by living through what I did. The blood has already been spilled long ago and so your hands won't be tainted. If it works as planned, then your body won't know the difference and the urges will go away. In addition, you are a half-breed. You shouldn't need to experience the violence for as long as a full-blooded Saiyan like myself or your uncle. You should feel satiated after a short amount of time."

"The thing is, we've only tested the sim for thirty seconds at a time," Bulma said, frowning a little. "But we're going to need longer for you two if this is going to work."

Gohan felt the anxiety rush through him again as he asked, "What could go wrong?"

When Bulma hesitated too long in answering, Vegeta bluntly cut in, "One of us might not wake up again once it's done. Or both of us."

"It's never happened before," Bulma assured him. "Everyone's always been fine who we've used the sim on. But, that is the risk. You never fully know how the mind will react."

Gohan nodded, looking down at the floor. "How do we stop it?"

"Just say _system disengage. _The simulator is rigged to stop when it reads the frequency of those specific words. _You _have to stop it, Gohan. Vegeta won't be able to. He's the one supplying the memories so he won't be conscious of you being in them."

The teenager rubbed the back of his neck, an awkward feat to do when his hands were still handcuffed together.

"Hon, you don't have to do this if you don't want to," Bulma gently told him. "It was just an idea. If you don't feel comfortable with it, or you want to maybe talk to your mom-"

"No," Gohan immediately said, shaking his head. "I don't want my mom to know about any of this." He frowned a little, before hesitantly looking up at Vegeta. "You would take that risk to help me, Vegeta?" he asked quietly.

Vegeta sneered at him, "Kid, _you're_ the one taking a risk by diving into my fucked up memories. I bear no responsibility for any trauma that you might be left with. So don't bitch to me when we're done. So long as you aren't trying to kill everything that moves, then I will consider this a success."

Gohan thought about it, before slowly nodding. "Alright… I'll do it."

"Gohan, really, if you want to think about it-"

The teenager shook his head. His suffering was only getting worse. If this could work, then who was he to say no? After all, it wasn't real. Vegeta had already slaughtered and killed to satisfy his own thirst for blood as a teenager; the prince was just sharing the experience with him so that he wouldn't have to do the same.

"No. I'll do it," he finally said. He nodded, releasing a shaky breath. "Yeah. I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Bulma asked, making Vegeta roll his eyes.

"Woman, this boy has fought in life and death battles for this planet. If he wants to do it, then let's do it. The faster we get it over with, the faster his ailment could be alleviated."

Gohan nodded, trying to suppress his anxiety which was beginning to surge. His hands were shaking as he imagined the bloodshed. Now that the idea had been proposed, he couldn't possibly turn it down.

"Let's do it," he said, giving another nod.

Bulma looked them both over, before finally nodding herself. "Alright. Let's do it then."

Five minutes later, Gohan was laying down on one of the examination tables. The first thing they did was physically restrain him. Vegeta removed the handcuffs from his wrists as Bulma stayed back, and then he tied down the teenager's arms and his legs with thick straps. Gohan was shaking, and this was certainly not helping.

"Take it easy, boy," Vegeta told him when he saw how anxious the boy was. "We're just restraining you in case something goes wrong."

"Like what?" Gohan asked in a raspy voice.

"Like it didn't work to take the edge off, and I don't wake up when you do," Vegeta responded, keeping his eyes on what he was doing. "These are strong enough to keep you restrained until I wake up as well," he said, finishing tying down the last strap. "It's just for my peace of mind, kid," he told him quietly.

Gohan nodded as Bulma came up to him. She smiled down at him, even as his muscles started twitching from how close she was to him. He had learned some kind of restraint around Vegeta, but only around him. Now he saw the need for the physical restraints.

"Hey you, don't worry. It won't take long to set you up," Bulma told him calmly. She unbuttoned half the buttons of Gohan's shirt, and then taped some electrodes on his chest. Almost immediately, there was a beeping sound in the room that was in rhythm with his heartbeat. "These are so I can make sure nothing gets too crazy for either of you. I'll stop it on my end if it does, and pull both of you out of it."

"Man. This is like a bad science experiment," Gohan said warily. He was tense from head to toe when she reached up and gently taped a strange sensor he had never seen before right over his temple.

"This is actually a secret plot to remove your kidneys and put them on the black market," Vegeta remarked from behind them, his arms crossed over his chest as he made sure the boy didn't somehow break his bonds and hurt Bulma.

"Vegeta," Bulma chastised, shaking her head as she withdrew from Gohan.

"Is that it?" Gohan asked, frowning a little.

"No, you idiot. It's called sarcasm. Or don't you have a dictionary at home?" Vegeta said snidely.

"No, I meant, is that it? As in, are you done or do you need to do more to me?" Gohan clarified.

"Nope, that's it. Now I have to get this one ready," Bulma said, turning back to her husband.

Vegeta sat down on the edge of the other examination table. He peeled off his polo shirt and tossed it aside, before scooting back. He winced almost imperceptibly as the pain in his ribs flared up when he laid down on his back. Bulma caught it though, and gave him a look of concern.

"I'm fine. Get on with it," he gruffly ordered when he saw her hesitation. Bulma shook her head and taped electrodes to his chest as well while he stared up at the ceiling. Now there were two heartbeats.

"You have to think about a specific event that you lived through to share with him," Bulma told him, gently taping the other end of the sensor linked with Gohan to her husband's temple.

He gave a curt nod. "Already got it," he said as Bulma went about making one last check to be sure everything was in place.

"Nothing too intense, Vegeta. If you don't mind," Gohan nervously spoke up. His shirt was starting to dampen with his sweat from his growing anxiety.

"Sorry, kid, but there is no skipping through daisies in my past," Vegeta said sarcastically, right before Bulma slapped him on the shoulder. He scowled and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "What? There isn't," he spat out.

"Just humor him, you jerk," Bulma sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Hn. You can sugarcoat things for him, woman, but I won't."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Well, you guys ready?" Bulma asked, looking over both of them.

"Yeah. I'm good. Let's do it," Gohan affirmed.

He was almost eager for it to begin. He was so close to relief. The straps restraining his arms were digging into his skin as he unconsciously put pressure on them. He swallowed heavily and tried keeping control, but he was ready for anything that would end his suffering. The beeping on his monitor started to spike a bit.

Bulma looked down at Vegeta, and he gave her a nod. She leaned down and kissed him gently. "Be careful, okay?" she whispered against his lips.

"I will," he quietly answered, before she pulled away.

Bulma sat down on a rolling chair and moved over to a slew of monitors in front of her, some medical, and some for a computer. She pulled out a pair of headphones and slipped them on, before checking all the medical monitors which were monitoring Gohan and Vegeta's brain waves. Finally, she pulled out a keyboard, and typed in a command to start up the simulator.

"Alright boys, here we go. Try to relax," she said. Both Vegeta and Gohan closed their eyes. "And we're going in three, two-"

_Gohan opened his eyes, squinting when he saw some kind of gas surrounding him. It was dark, and he had no idea where he was. He looked over to his side, looking for Vegeta and Bulma, but all he saw was more darkness. He reached over and his hand met a padded surface._

_The lights immediately turned on, and the gas cleared. At once, he knew where he was. This was a space pod, just like the one his uncle had once trapped him in. He blinked and looked down at himself, and immediately recognized the Saiyan armor he was wearing. It was the same thing he had worn on Namek. _

_Gohan ran his shaking, gloved hands over the armor. The metal of his chest plate was smooth and strong under the leather-like material of his gloves. It all felt so completely real, that he wondered if Vegeta had somehow learned his father's instant transmission technique and teleported him away somewhere. _

_He wasn't aware that he was wearing a green scouter until it flickered and beeped, startling him._

"_You alright, Vegeta?" a voice came through._

"_Uh what…" Gohan started, before blinking. That was definitely NOT his voice coming out of his mouth; it was gruff, and extremely familiar, even if it wasn't the deep version he was used to hearing. The teenager suddenly reached up, and sure enough, he was feeling his hair standing straight up with a few locks hanging down over his forehead. "Oh man," he mumbled under his breath, his eyes widening in surprise and unease. "This is crazy…"_

"_What? What's crazy?" the voice asked. _

"_Um…nothing," Gohan finally said, right as the pod door opened. He stared at it with uncertainty, before slowly climbing out of his pod. _

_Even the smell in the air was different. Gohan squinted, taking a step back against his pod when a burst of sand struck him. He could practically feel it in his eyes, it felt so real. He coughed a little and brushed the sand away, but it was swirling up all around them. It was extremely windy, and the sand under his white boots was dark red. Blood red. He looked up and saw that the sky was a tranquil purple. The stars were barely visible._

_Gohan jumped with a start when a hand landed on his shoulder. He spun around and snarled instinctively, and Nappa immediately backed up. He raised his hands._

"_Just wanted to make sure you were alright," the large Saiyan said, eyeing him warily. _

"_Seems back to normal to me," another voice chuckled. Gohan immediately looked over and blinked at the sight of his uncle standing there. Raditz smirked at him. "Ready now? I know you gotta be chomping at the bit to get some blood on your hands after how long Frieza kept you waiting."_

_Gohan nodded numbly. Just by hearing his words, his ki started to rise. He clenched his fists, and he felt himself break into a sweat under his armor._

"_Alright…" Nappa said, eyeing the boy uneasily, as if trying to figure out what was wrong with him. "Well, which half do you want? You want the north or the south? Or hell; do you just want the whole planet?"_

"_Let him take the whole planet," Raditz said with a snicker. He wiped at the blowing sand with his free hand. "That's what you want, right, Vegeta?"_

_Gohan looked around, already trying to sense out ki. His heartbeat was racing, and he was practically salivating as he pinpointed a village not far away._

"_Vegeta?"_

_Gohan paid them no mind as he brought up one hand in front of him. He formed a white ball of ki over his palm and frowned. He wasn't as powerful in this body. In this dream-like state thing he was in, he was only as strong as Vegeta was at his age._

"_Hey, you sure you're alright?" _

_The teenager blinked as he looked at the two Saiyans who were watching him. He cocked his head to one side, regarding them curiously. They both seemed genuinely concerned as they stared back at him. It was the most bizarre thing. He only had horrible memories of his uncle, and even worse ones of Nappa. He would've never thought either would've cared about anyone. And yet, they cared about him._

_Well, not him specifically. They cared about Vegeta. _

"_We're friends?" Gohan asked hesitantly._

_Nappa and Raditz exchanged a look, before looking back at their prince (or the teenaged boy that looked just like him)._

"_Right. You can just do what you want," Raditz finally said, assuming that Gohan's legitimate question was Vegeta's morbid sarcasm masking a threat not to challenge his authority._

_Gohan frowned at him, before turning away from both of them. He sniffed the air, and blinked in surprise. "Holy crap," he muttered under his breath. "Vegeta can smell _everything!"

"_Did Frieza break his skull or something?" Raditz asked in a low voice from behind him._

"_No. Just his arms before I put him in a chamber. It must be getting to him. The need, you know-"_

_Gohan didn't hear anything else as his ki suddenly exploded around him. He was nowhere near his own actual power, but this body wasn't exactly weak either. He took off into the air, letting his nose and his senses guide him as he left his Saiyan comrades in the dust. He didn't sense them following him, which was just as well. _

_The ki was already exploding in flames around both of Gohan's hands when he descended right in the middle of an alien town. There were buildings; tall, made of solid black glass, in the most bizarre architecture he'd ever seen that seemed like a Tetris game gone wrong. Normally, he would've been intrigued. But he hardly noticed. He wasn't even aware of his tail that was swishing back and forth in bloodthirsty anticipation behind him, or the way he was unconsciously baring his teeth as he surveyed the aliens around him. All he could feel were the weak ki signatures surrounding him, the smell of the aliens, the vibrating pulse of their life energy. He wanted their blood in their hands. He had to have it. _

_Someone finally noticed him, and shrieked in terror. The armor, the scouter, and the tail said it all - death had arrived in the form of a fourteen-year-old boy. They started screaming in a language Gohan didn't understand, and they all ran away in terror. _

_He fired immediately at the first fleeing aliens that he saw running away. The smell of blood rising in the air made relief and guilt clash inside of him immediately. The guilt was quickly submerged though as Vegeta's natural reaction began to dominate his movements. Gohan raised both hands and fired an all-out assault with his ki that was expertly tailored to a purge, letting himself slip more to the default actions that Vegeta's body was commanding in the memory, while he reaped all of the benefits. Gohan closed his eyes tightly so he wouldn't see the destruction he was causing. Unfortunately, he could still hear the screaming._

_Gohan finally opened his eyes when he felt something coming right at him. He immediately dodged the blast that was aimed for his back, before spinning around and seeing that there were warriors who were trying to fight back. He dug his heel back, ready to fight. Needing to fight. He rationalized this as self-defense when one of them phased in behind him. Gohan killed him instantly with two well-placed blows. _

_It was then that he realized that he had lost complete control of his actions. He had been in control before, but now he was on auto-pilot, living this experience completely through Vegeta's perspective. He was helpless to stop the brutal and methodical dismantling that he was dishing out on the warriors that dared challenge him in battle, but he was strangely fine with that. Gohan was completely in tune with Vegeta, feeling only what the prince had once felt. Gone was the guilt, and in its place was __relief, a rush of adrenaline, a profound sense of satisfaction, and unyielding pride. There was no sense of right or wrong, only a sense of duty over what needed to be done. There was a song in his blood that demanded to be heard. And he was answering the primal call through Vegeta in the past, both of them together as one. And it felt fantastic. _

Alright, _Gohan finally thought to himself a few minutes later, breathing heavily as he turned to look at the rest of the aliens who were trying to escape. There was blood on his hands now, and blood on his armor. He had killed, but it was through Vegeta's hands. The primal calling was dying down. Reason was coming back amidst the madness. Gohan took a deep breath, and nodded to himself. _I got what I needed. That's enough. I can stop-

_Without controlling it, his hand raised and glowed with ki. Gohan blinked, and the feeling of euphoria he had felt minutes ago quickly melted to horror when he continued his ruthless slaughtering. He had surrendered his control to Vegeta's memory, and panic settled into his stomach when he realized that he couldn't reclaim it. _

Shit, _Gohan thought to himself, the horror escalating with the growing violence. He squeezed his eyes shut, before trying to say the words that would end this. But Vegeta's mouth only formed a snarl of disgust as he turned and fired a blast that sent a glass building shattering to the ground. _Shit! _Gohan thought again. He focused his mind as much as possible; maybe if he thought the words, they would work? _

System disengage! System disengage! _he thought furiously. _

_The wind and the red sand suddenly disappeared. Before he could see where he was, Gohan was brutally slammed face first into a marble floor, his nose breaking on impact. _

_"I have told you to address me properly, you stupid monkey," an extremely familiar voice said. Gohan felt his blood run cold as he felt Frieza apply a painful pressure on the back of his head. He cried out in pain and struggled underneath him, but he was absolutely no match for the tyrant. "Now, we'll try this one more time. How do you address me, boy?"_

_Gohan couldn't control the high-pitched words as they tumbled out of his mouth, "You can't make me say it, you freak!"_

_"Oh, I don't know about that." _

_There was a dark chuckle, before he felt a mind-numbingly excruciating pain by his tail. He screamed in agony, feeling every bit of pain that Vegeta once felt._

_Suddenly, he was sitting on a smooth marble floor that was a royal blue and not the pale white of Frieza's office. Gohan was desperately raging with his mind for this to stop, but he was helpless and stuck in the whirlwind of Vegeta's horrific memories. And this one was no different, as he noticed there was an enormous amount of blood on the marble. Looking around, he saw that he was completely surrounded by corpses. His little hands, shaking and wet with blood, reached up and covered his face as Vegeta broke down into tears in the memory, with Gohan crying with him._

Gohan jerked awake, opening his eyes as he desperately struggled against his restraints. His shirt was now skin-tight from his sweat as he looked around. Bulma's hand was on his chest as she looked down at him with concern.

"It's okay, Gohan. You're okay," she told him soothingly. "I got you out of there."

He took a few uneasy breaths, before nodding. He rested his head back, willing his racing heartbeat to slow down. Bulma patted him on the shoulder, before going over to Vegeta. The prince was also covered in sweat. His eyes were closed as Bulma gently ran a cool wipe over his brow.

"He lost control," she said bleakly, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Gohan."

"It's okay," the teenager said. He took a few good, deep breaths, before pushing the last couple of memories away. It was easy enough; they weren't his to begin with. He did hold onto the first one though; the only one he had been meant to live through before Vegeta's control slipped. Gohan sighed in relief when he no longer felt the crippling anxiety in his body. Nor did he feel an overwhelming urge to slaughter either of his friends. It was still there, but it was much more manageable now.

"Oh man. That feels so much better," he mumbled in relief, smiling a little. "Bulma, I'm not sure, but I think it might've worked. And if it didn't, then it sure as heck helped!"

"That's great, Gohan."

Gohan looked over when he heard her absent-minded tone that signaled that she hadn't heard a word of what he'd said. Bulma was sitting next to Vegeta as she leaned over him, cradling his face in her hands.

"Vegeta, sweetheart?" she asked worriedly, trying to rouse him with her voice and her touch. "Can you hear me?"

She cursed under her breath when she saw that he was completely unresponsive. The teenager tried sitting up to help, but he was still restrained.

"Bulma?" he asked, worry creeping in. "Is he alright?"

She wanted to say yes. That he had just passed out from exhaustion. That he had pushed too much. But when she looked up to see the unnaturally low readings she was getting from him, her heart sank and the truth quietly came out.

"No, he's not."


	8. Like father, like son

Three days came and went without Vegeta's condition improving, and no one felt worse over the situation than Gohan. After all, the only reason Vegeta had even taken such a risk in the first place was to help him. All Gohan wanted to do now was return the favor; he wanted to help somehow, in whatever way he could. But Bulma told him the only way he could help was to stay in control of himself. It was rough for him to hear, but there was nothing else he could do.

The teenager was currently sitting by himself in Vegeta's gravity chamber. His bloodthirst was much, _much_ more manageable after his expedition through the prince's memories. He was no longer plagued with horrible headaches, and his random fevers were gone. He found that he could actually stand being in the company of one or two people, while still being in full control of himself. The condition had been greatly tempered, but it wasn't completely gone just yet. That's why the gravity was currently up and engaged at 200 times Earth's gravity. It was to keep himself in check. The physical strain took the edge off, and made it much easier for him to cope. After all, he no longer had Vegeta there as a crutch to help him. In retrospect, Gohan could see that he had relied heavily on the prince to get him through this.

But now, he had to dig deep and get control of himself on his own. He found the willpower to do so when he saw and felt the improvement inside of himself. It was like running in a dark tunnel for miles; at the first glimpse of light, he found a second wind. He had his glimpse of light, and finally, he felt real hope that he was starting to gain control over the killer inside him.

Bulma, however, didn't share his confidence. She was already stretched thin with worry over Vegeta, and she just wasn't emotionally or physically capable of helping Gohan through his own personal dilemma at the same time. Though she allowed him to stay at Capsule Corp so he could have easy access to the gravity chamber, it was not without supervision.

That was why Piccolo was right outside the doorway to the gravity chamber, cross-legged and levitating in the air. The Namekian had known something was up when Gohan hadn't paid him a visit in a while, but he hadn't been prepared for what he walked into when he was summoned to Capsule Corp a few nights ago: Vegeta was in a coma, Bulma was struggling not to fall apart, and Gohan was fully restrained and looking completely miserable. Yamcha and Krillin showed up not too long afterwards with a Senzu bean for Vegeta. When that didn't work, Yamcha picked up the unconscious prince and Krillin grabbed Bulma, and they went to see Dende so the young Namekian could heal Vegeta, leaving Piccolo and Gohan behind.

Unfortunately, they had returned less than an hour later, with Bulma heartbroken and Vegeta still unresponsive to the world. There was nothing physically wrong with the prince, Dende had said. No damage to his brain. Nothing that needed to be healed. For all intents and purposes, he was in the equivalent of a deep sleep.

As a last resort, they had the Dragon Balls. But they had been used several months ago to restore the Earth's moon. It would take months to be able to use them again. Eight months, to be exact. Piccolo had a bluntness that could rival Vegeta's on the Saiyan's best day, and had been about to tell the genius heiress that eight months in the grand scheme of things was not a long time. But one look at the way Bulma lovingly took Vegeta's face in her hands and kissed his forehead with tears in her eyes, and Piccolo bit his words down. When he finally spoke, it was to promise her that Gohan wasn't going to be a problem. It was a promise he fully intended to keep.

Gohan slowly dragged himself up to his feet, and then disengaged the gravity simulator. He leaned heavily on the control panel so he wouldn't collapse as the forces were lifted. He brushed the sweaty, blond hair out of his eyes, and then sighed when he heard the door open behind him.

"I'm alright," he said, not turning around. "You don't have to stay, Piccolo."

"Sorry kid, but I did give Bulma my word that I'd keep an eye on you."

"Is he better?" Gohan asked, even though deep down, he already knew the answer. Vegeta's ki signature was unnaturally low. But he asked anyways, on the slim chance that he was wrong.

"No," Piccolo bluntly replied.

He crossed his arms and observed the teenager from behind as Gohan's shoulders slumped at his response, as though he'd been struck a physical blow. Piccolo exhaled quietly. Gohan was the complete opposite of both himself and Vegeta. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and it was that very thing that had worn Piccolo down and made him grow attached to the boy in the first place. And right now, his guilt was tangible.

Piccolo's arms tightened over his chest. He was not good at being consoling, but he gamely gave it a try here, only because of who the teenager was.

"What happened to Vegeta is not your fault, Gohan."

"But he would've never done it if it wasn't for me."

Piccolo didn't respond immediately to that. He could barely believe it when Bulma and Gohan told him the reason for Vegeta's condition, and what they had been trying to accomplish. It was such a selfless action on the prince's part, and he was filled with a rare sense of appreciation towards Vegeta because of it. It was very reminiscent of the way he'd felt after Vegeta helped Gohan defeat Cell. Now he found himself in the odd position of being actually concerned for someone other than himself and Gohan.

Not that he would ever voice that concern.

"Vegeta isn't a child. He's a man who made a decision, knowing full well the risk he was taking," Piccolo finally said. "So stop blaming yourself. You didn't force him to do anything."

Gohan sighed. "Yeah, I guess. I just wish I could help him."

"You are helping by keeping yourself in control and not slaughtering his family. Vegeta will recover soon," Piccolo stated confidently, though he couldn't shake the feeling that he was just trying to convince himself of that fact.

Gohan nodded, staying silent as he picked up the now familiar pair of ki-draining handcuffs. Bulma had given him a newer, stronger set, without the chain linking the cuffs together. He latched them on now, and almost immediately, his hair and teal eyes both faded to black. He finally turned to face Piccolo, and the call to spill his mentor's blood was barely a faint hum in his psyche. It was very manageable, and he was relieved.

"Come on, kid. You have to eat something," Piccolo told him as Gohan stepped out.

"Yeah. Alright," the teenager sighed, reluctantly turning away from the compound.

He gave it one last lingering glance, before taking to the air, with Piccolo close behind him. To help himself get even more relief, Gohan was hunting the old-fashioned way for everything he ate, killing everything with his bare hands. Tonight, he was going to get in the water and get himself the biggest fish he could find. Without his ki, flying and hunting was challenging, especially after being under high gravity for such a long time. It was enough so that by the time he went back to Capsule Corp, he could do little more than just collapse into a deep sleep.

But instead of being relieved that things were getting easier for him, or being proud of himself for stepping up and handling his own urges mostly on his own, Gohan could only think of Vegeta. He was so grateful to him, and he hated that he felt so useless.

All he could do was hope he'd come out of it soon.

* * *

Eight months. Bulma didn't even think she was going to last through the week, much less eight months.

She was shifting through thousands of lines of code on several of her computer monitors in her lab. There was an ashtray next to her keyboard, being well-used. She was going through everything, looking for a glitch somewhere and finding none. Deep down, she knew what the problem was – her simulator was designed for humans, not telepathic Saiyans. Especially not someone like Vegeta who was especially skilled in telepathy. He was too strong and had taken over the controls she had designed. In retrospect, she should have known better.

Bulma shook her head. "Should've never let him talk me into skipping these tests," she sighed quietly to herself, for perhaps the tenth time that day alone. The heiress picked up her cigarette perched on the ashtray, and took a slow draw as her mind raced with what she could do to help her husband.

At least, Chi-Chi had agreed to keep Trunks at her home. Bulma had told her friend about Vegeta's state, but had spared her the details by just saying he had gotten badly injured in another gravity chamber explosion. She didn't like lying to Chi-Chi, but telling her the truth about Vegeta would open the floodgates over what was wrong with Gohan, and that was more than she could handle right now.

"Oof. Is there a fire here?" Krillin's voice jokingly cut through her thoughts.

"Oh. Sorry," Bulma said half-heartedly as she exhaled. She then extinguished the cigarette, turned on the fans, and opened the vents as Krillin and Yamcha walked in.

"Hey, B," Yamcha greeted his ex good-naturedly. "How you doing?"

Bulma gave him a look that said it all, before looking back at her work. She knew they meant well, but she was tired of keeping up the front. She was worried sick and was also battling her own guilt over the situation.

"Any change with Vegeta?" Krillin asked.

That did it. She barely managed to shake her head, before she finally broke down crying. Both of her friends were instantly next to her, rubbing her back and telling her that things would be fine. It was the first time she had let herself fall apart, whether alone or in someone else's company, and neither Krillin nor Yamcha pressed her to get herself together.

They didn't have to. After about five minutes, Bulma pulled herself together on her own. She wiped at her eyes self-consciously, turning away from her work. She actually felt a little better, though she was now exhausted.

"I know that there has to be a way to help him," she said hoarsely as she stood up. "I just have to figure out how."

"You're not thinking of using that simulator again, are you?" Yamcha asked worriedly, looking over what she had been looking at before following her out of her lab.

"Yeah, that might not be a great idea, Bulma. It might only make things worse," Krillin added.

"Maybe if I altered the design," Bulma said, brainstorming out loud, still wiping her eyes. "The thing is, Vegeta's telepathy throws a wrench into everything. I would have to design everything from scratch," she miserably admitted as she walked into the infirmary where Vegeta was.

Together with the men next to her, they had set up the prince so all of his vitals were being monitored. Bulma had gone a step further and altered the monitors to give her an alert on her phone whenever there was any change at all, in case she wasn't near him. But everything had been steady and normal for the last three days.

"Yeah, but someone would have to go in there with him, right?" Yamcha asked. "Like, to get him? That'd be pretty risky."

"I know," Bulma sighed, only paying partial attention. She put a hand on Vegeta's chest as she looked down at him in concern.

"No one should take that risk," Krillin said. He watched as Bulma put the back of her hand against his forehead, feeling his temperature. Krillin sat down heavily in a chair against the wall, and sighed. "I'm sure he'll come out of this soon. He _is _Vegeta, after all."

"Yeah," Bulma said absent-mindedly.

"It's only been a few days. Give him a little time."

Bulma just nodded, and sat down next to her husband. She gently took his hand in hers, lightly caressing his knuckles.

"Hey, I know!" Yamcha said brightly. "What if we douse him with cold water? That always does the trick for me."

"Vegeta isn't passed out drunk," Bulma replied, rolling her eyes a little, though she did feel the urge to laugh over his suggestion. She brought Vegeta's hand up by her mouth, and sighed against it. "Someone to go back in and get him…?" she mused under her breath, only now giving Yamcha's words real thought.

"No, no, no, that wasn't a good suggestion," Yamcha said, shaking his head. He was standing behind her as he put one hand on her shoulder. "Remember, you said it yourself, that it's risky."

"But if I made just a few adjustments to the link and gave Vegeta some control so he's not fighting it so much…"

"But Bulma, you'd be asking someone to take a huge risk," Krillin gently said. "There must be some other way. No one is skilled enough to fight Vegeta for control mentally. There are a lot of ways this could go wrong." He wasn't trying to burst her bubble. He wanted Vegeta to snap out of this as much as anyone. It just wasn't right, seeing him so vulnerable and defenseless. But subjecting someone else to the risk of winding up in the same state wasn't right either. "We don't even know if using the simulator would even work to get Vegeta to wake up, so it's best to just not even take the risk. I still say we give him some time."

"But who knows what he could be going through right now, Krillin," Bulma said bleakly as she looked back at her husband. She reached over with her free hand and ran it gently over Vegeta's brow. "What if he's stuck reliving his memories?" she asked anxiously, biting back the sting of tears in her eyes at the thought.

Yamcha and Krillin stole glances at each other. Neither knew what to say to that.

"It's the only thing I could think of. I'd try to go in myself, but I'm the only one who understands the workings of the simulator," Bulma continued speaking aloud, though it was more like she was talking to Vegeta than the men in the room with her. "And even if I could, I couldn't go up against his mental control," she admitted in defeat.

"Who could?" Yamcha asked.

"_I_ could."

Everyone looked over in surprise to see Gohan standing in the doorway, with Piccolo right behind him. Krillin immediately stood up, going to stand next to Yamcha, both of them between Gohan and Bulma. They were both tense; neither was any match for the teenager in front of them. If he truly wanted to kill them, he could do so easily.

Gohan tried to look unaffected by the protective gesture, but his features fell with hurt. Yes, his Saiyan instincts definitely were being put to the ultimate test right now. He was already breaking into a sweat from being around so many at the same time, and there was a slight tremor to his hands. His control right now wasn't stellar, but it was enough, so long as no one but Piccolo got too close to him.

Gohan looked past Krillin and Yamcha towards Bulma. "I could help him. Let me go back in, and I'll get Vegeta to snap out of it."

Bulma couldn't say a word. She was surprised that the teenager was even this close to them, for one. But mostly, she was shocked that he would want to try using the simulator again, after how it ended for him last time.

"No way, kid," Krillin told him, shaking his head. "That's way too much of a risk."

"Yeah," Yamcha agreed. "Goku wouldn't let you-"

"Goku isn't here," Piccolo cut in, more harshly than he intended. Gohan clenched his fists, but otherwise remained silent. "So let's not pretend any of us know what he would want Gohan to do or not to do in this situation."

"So what, you're okay with letting Gohan take a risk like this? You know he could end up like Vegeta, right?" Yamcha asked incredulously.

"Gohan has already experienced being in Bulma's virtual reality simulator. If he thinks he can go back in and help Vegeta, then I say let him try. It's his decision, not yours," Piccolo responded. He kept to himself that he had volunteered to go in instead of Gohan. But the teenager was determined to be the one to fix things, and so Piccolo had finally agreed. It seemed to him that it was what Gohan needed to do, in more ways than one.

"Well, _I _certainly have some say in this," Bulma finally spoke up. Krillin and Yamcha both reluctantly took a step aside so she could easily see the teenage boy across the room from her. "It was one thing letting Vegeta take that risk, but I can't let that happen to you. You're just a kid, and Chi-Chi is my friend, and she would never forgive me if something happened to you-"

"I'll talk to my mom and tell her the truth," Gohan cut in, earning shocked looks from everyone in the room. Even Piccolo behind him looked mildly surprised.

"Gohan…" Bulma started, looking at him in exasperation. "We'll think of something else-"

"No," the teenager cut in again, a look of hard determination on his face. "I can help Vegeta. I know I can. I didn't know what to expect before, but this time I do. Please, Bulma. I want to do this for him."

All eyes turned to Bulma. She reached up and rubbed at her eyes, muttering under her breath something about stubbornness being genetic in Saiyans.

Finally she sighed, and relented, "If you can get Chi-Chi to call me and say that she's okay with you doing this, then I'll make some modifications and we can try again."

"Alright," Gohan agreed, before turning around and walking past Piccolo, purpose in every step he took. The Namekian immediately walked after him as Yamcha and Krillin both turned back to Bulma.

"You sure that was the best idea, B?" Yamcha asked warily.

"Well, I doubt Chi-Chi will give the okay," Bulma said, turning back to her husband. She gently ran a hand through his hair, before quietly adding, "But, you never know…"

* * *

Chi-Chi was stunned beyond words as she stared at her eldest son later that night, with Piccolo standing several feet behind him. She hadn't seen Gohan in so long, and the first thing she had wanted to do was hug him tightly. Yes, he had become a moody teenager as of late with a severe attitude problem, but he was still her little boy and she had missed him dearly.

But her son had yet to let her get within ten yards of him. When Gohan saw the hurt on her face because of his distance, he finally caved and told her everything. He was reluctant at first, but soon, the words were just spilling. It was almost therapeutic for him to get it all out in his own words, though it stung a little to see the horror on her face when she learned the truth. Still, he continued, eventually getting into the truth behind Vegeta's condition.

"And that's why I want to help him," Gohan finally finished.

Chi-Chi could barely wrap her mind around everything her son had just told her, when suddenly, an excited shout sounded through the air.

"GOHAN!"

Goten dashed out of the house, charging straight towards his big brother with Trunks right on his heels, when Chi-Chi moved in with speed she didn't know she had and grabbed both boys before they could run past her. They both looked up at her in surprise as she shook her head. "Both of you, go back inside. I'm having a grown-up conversation with Gohan right now."

"But Mama," Goten whined, his eyes filling with tears as he looked over at his brother. Gohan offered him a small smile. He had also missed his little brother, though he was privately glad that his mom had stopped him from getting too close. His smile was strained and sad as he offered Goten a short wave.

"It's alright, sport, I'll see ya soon," Gohan said good-naturedly. "Then we can go fishing together."

"Yay!" Goten shouted, already distracted with the prospect of going fishing with his brother. "I love fishing!"

"Oh wow! Can I come, Gohan? Can I, can I?" Trunks yelled.

"Definitely. But right now, I gotta talk to my mom. You two mind going back inside?"

"'kay," Goten said, put at ease. He ran back inside, but Trunks lingered, making eye contact with Gohan.

"Trunks, go back inside, hon," Chi-Chi told him, giving him a gentle nudge. Trunks looked up at her, and then looked over at Gohan as he bit his bottom lip, and then looked back at Chi-Chi.

"Can I go back with Gohan when he leaves? I miss my papa," he shyly said. Bulma had come to visit him every day, which was great when combined with the fact that he was hanging out with his best friend all day. But he was sorely missing Vegeta's presence, and wanted to go see him.

Gohan and Chi-Chi exchanged a look, before Chi-Chi turned back to the little boy. "Remember what your mom said, Trunks? Your dad has a nasty cold and they don't want you to catch it."

Trunks scowled fiercely at that. Yes, that was indeed what his mother had told him, but he found it extremely hard to believe. His father was the toughest guy in the world and had never been sick before. Nothing that he could remember anyways.

"I'll tell him you said hi," Gohan chimed in.

Trunks looked over at him, and pouted in disappointment. "Hmph…well…okay," the little boy finally relented.

"Go inside now, it's getting chilly out here," Chi-Chi told him. Trunks sulked a little, but did as he was told, going back inside.

With the boys gone, a tense silence settled between Gohan and Chi-Chi. Piccolo's antenna twitched; he wanted nothing to do with this conversation.

"Gohan," he said. "I'm going to go sit by the river. Come find me when you're done here."

Gohan nodded as Piccolo left. He looked back at his mother, who had her arms crossed and her gaze averted from him. The teenager sighed.

"You're scared of me," he remarked. He tried to sound matter-of-fact, but he couldn't quite keep the hurt out of his voice. Chi-Chi heard it and looked back at him warily.

"You just told me that you didn't trust yourself with me getting closer to you, because you might lose control and kill me. So yes, that is a little scary, Gohan," she told him, before huffing in disgust. "Ugh! It's those damn Saiyan genes-"

"Mom, this is who I am," Gohan sighed, extending his arms out. "I'm half-Saiyan. I saved the world because of those damn Saiyan genes. I might not ever give in to the bloodlust, but I have the instinct. It makes me strong. Maybe it always has." His arms fell, and he looked down at his hands. "I can't accept my power and turn around and condemn where it comes from. All I can do is control this and ride it out, like Vegeta told me to. But…" Gohan shifted uncomfortably as he looked off to the side. He raised one hand and awkwardly scratched at the back of his neck. "If it scares you, or it makes you ashamed of me, I guess I understand…"

"What? I never said I was ashamed of you!" Chi-Chi cut in, looking almost offended that he would say such a thing. "You're my son! I'll never be ashamed of you. That's not what I meant, Gohan."

"Oh."

"I meant, I hate that you're struggling with it. It doesn't sound like it's been easy restraining."

"It hasn't," he admitted. "But it's gotten better. Vegeta helped me a ton."

"Yeah, it sounds like it," Chi-Chi agreed, looking her son over carefully. "You're going to help him no matter what I tell you, aren't you?"

Gohan blushed a little, looking down at the grass in front of him. "I know I can help him. I _know _I can. Bulma's having such a hard time, and Trunks…" he shook his head. "I don't want him not having his dad around, like me."

Chi-Chi's features softened a little at that. "Gohan," she gently started, "Your father…that's just how your father is. He thought he was helping. He didn't mean to hurt any of us. You know that. You can't keep resenting him for not coming back. He made a decision, and you have to accept that."

Gohan nodded, swallowing heavily. He finally looked up and changed the subject. "Anyways, like I was saying. Vegeta's helped me a lot, and I want to do this for him."

"Well, it doesn't sound like you're asking me for permission," Chi-Chi said, shaking her head. She recognized that look in her son's eyes, and it made her groan. "You really are your father's son…always trying to be a hero!" She sighed. "Well, do what you want, Gohan."

"Really?" Gohan asked, blinking in surprise.

"If you think you can help Vegeta, then you probably can," she conceded. "I mean, it can't be harder than saving the world, can it?"

Gohan smiled a little. "Hopefully not."

"Just be careful," Chi-Chi told him, looking at him with motherly concern. A few seconds later, her look became stern. "And you had BETTER believe that you are going to hit the books hard as soon as you stop wanting to go on random killing sprees! Don't think you're going to get off easy, just because you're playing hero like your father."

Gohan grinned a very Goku-like grin. "Sounds like fun," he said, turning away. He gave her a small salute. "Thanks, Mom."

"Be careful," Chi-Chi sighed, watching as he took off into the sky, flying off towards Piccolo. She shook her head and headed back inside. "Saiyans…"

* * *

Bulma could hardly believe it when Gohan came back with Piccolo and told her that Chi-Chi had given him the green light. She immediately called up her friend, who confirmed it. Still not convinced, Bulma told Chi-Chi the risk Gohan was taking, just to be absolutely sure. To that, Chi-Chi snorted and said the riskier it was, the more inclined he would be to do it, since he was his father's son through and through.

That was all Bulma needed to hear before she got to work, with renewed purpose. They were going to give it a try again, and this time, they had to make it count.

Gohan found himself right back where he was a few nights ago, fully restrained on an examination table in one of Bulma's labs. Piccolo tested his restraints silently, but there was no way Gohan could break them. They were ki draining. The teenager sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, anxiety running through him, but for different reasons than the last time he'd done this.

"You can still back out, you know," Piccolo said, crossing his arms and looking down at him.

"Do you want me to?" the teenager asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All I want is for you to make a decision you can live with."

"It won't be bad. I'll fix things. I know I will," Gohan said, and Piccolo recognized the determination on his face. It was the same look Goku always wore before a fight, and Piccolo couldn't help his smirk.

"I'm sure you will, kid."

They both glanced over when the door to the labs opened. Yamcha was carrying Vegeta under his arms, while Krillin had a hold of his legs. Bulma came in behind them as they gently laid the prince down on the table next to Gohan.

"Are you guys sure about this?" Krillin asked warily as he stepped back. "We could still give him a little more time…"

"Gohan is also a telepath, and he has the closest connection with Vegeta out of anyone here besides me," Bulma explained, setting up the electrodes on Vegeta's chest. "He has the best chance."

"Man. You've got guts, kid," Yamcha told Gohan lightheartedly.

The teenager gave him a strained smile. He had been fine with just Piccolo being in the room, but now, he couldn't control the tremors that started racking his body. He stared up at the ceiling, feeling his body trying to power up unconsciously. The restraints on his wrists and his ankles were keeping him in check, and he was relieved.

"Alright, Gohan," Bulma said, coming over to him as she set him up with the electrodes. "Here's the deal. I changed to the dual simulator setting. Instead of you living through Vegeta's memories from his perspective and having to fight him for control, you'll be in shared memories where you can be yourself. All you have to do is get Vegeta to give the verbal command to disengage the simulator, and that will definitely wake him up. And as soon as he wakes up, you will too… assuming everything works according to plan," she added.

"That doesn't sound too hard."

"You might be able to force some memories, if you can take control. They have to be shared by both of you though. Regardless, the hard part won't be the actual memories. It'll be convincing Vegeta that he's not really living through those memories." Bulma chewed a little on her bottom lip in anxiety. "We've only run the dual setting a couple of times. It's been hard getting out of it…"

"It's alright. Let's do it," Gohan said, giving a brief nod. "I'll get him out."

"Okay," Bulma said, before patting him gently on the arm in encouragement. She went over to check Vegeta one last time while Gohan glanced over at the three men standing off to the side, watching everything going on.

"Good luck, kid," Krillin said.

"Yeah. Can't be harder than beating Cell, right?" Yamcha joked lightly.

Gohan snorted, smirking a little even though his shirt was again starting to dampen with sweat and his tremors were growing worse. He unconsciously pulled against his restraints as he remarked, "My mom said something like that. I sure hope it's not."

Bulma kissed Vegeta lightly on the lips, before sighing deeply as she pulled away. She picked up her set of headphones as Gohan made eye contact with Piccolo. The Namekian gave him a nod, and Gohan nodded back.

"Alright, Gohan. Are you ready?" Bulma asked, looking over at the teenager.

"Yeah," he nodded, closing his eyes. He took one good, deep breath, before nodding again. "I'm ready."

"Okay. Here we go. Going in three, two-"

_The ground exploded right in front of Gohan, forcing him backwards. He could barely see where he was or what was going on before there was another explosion, followed by an entire barrage of ki blasts that were coming dangerously close to hitting him as he instinctively dodged as he backpedaled backwards. It took Gohan a few seconds to get his bearings, before he immediately blasted straight up into the air to gain some reprieve. _

_He was breathing heavily as he surveyed the ground below. There was his father, beaten and broken down, grimacing in pain. Not too far from him was Krillin, watching the battle in apprehension, holding a ball of raw energy as he waited for the perfect shot. Hiding behind some rocks was Yajirobe, barely peeking out at him._

_That only left-_

_Vegeta suddenly phased in right in front of Gohan, and landed a hard punch in the young boy's face. Gohan yelped in surprise; he could practically feel his nose breaking. His eyes teared up, and he had to remind himself that this wasn't real. It was a hard feat, because it certainly felt real._

"_Vegeta!" Gohan yelled, bringing his hands up to defend himself as the Saiyan prince ruthlessly tried to batter him. Vegeta was angry and relentless, and it was taking everything Gohan had to block his attacks. "Vegeta, this isn't real!"_

"_All of you still being alive? You're goddamned right!" Vegeta yelled furiously, right as he buried his knee into Gohan's stomach. The boy immediately retaliated with a swift kick right to the prince's ribs._

_That stopped Vegeta's attack cold. The prince backed up a little in midair, coughing up blood from the blow as he visibly paled. Vegeta looked down, one eye squeezed shut, surprise written in his features over the pain he was in. _

His ribs! In his mind, they're still broken! _Gohan suddenly realized._

"_Vegeta, it's me, Gohan," he immediately said, taking advantage of the prince's confusion. "This isn't real! Remember, I broke your ribs while we were-"_

_Vegeta silenced him with a fast and vicious ki blast that sent Gohan crashing back to the ground. The boy landed hard, dirt exploding around him._

"_You _did_ break my ribs, boy, but now, I will return the favor ten-fold," Vegeta sneered, his ki flaring up around him. Gohan winced as he slowly raised his head, just in time to see Vegeta flying down straight at him._

"_This happened nearly ten years ago!" Gohan yelled. "Remember? You're married to Bulma and you have a son named Trunks!"_

_The rage on Vegeta's face melted into mild confusion as the names struck a chord inside of him. It was enough for him to slow down, before coming to a complete stop. He blinked a few times, as though he was coming out of a daze. He had never heard either name before, and he knew for certain that he had no wife and he had no son. _

_Why, then, were those names so deeply familiar to him?_

"…_What?" he finally demanded, descending to the ground and landing a few feet in front of Gohan. "What the hell are you talking about?"_

_Gohan opened his mouth to tell him the truth, when Krillin took advantage of Vegeta's distraction by firing the Spirit Bomb. The prince turned around in shock as he faced it head on. He was barely assessing how powerful the blast was, when Gohan tackled him out of nowhere, knocking the prince down to the dirt as the Spirit Bomb sailed over both of them and crashed into a mountain. The air rushed with dirt as Krillin, Yajirobe, and Goku all screamed at Gohan. The boy squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for everything to die down. He focused as hard as he could on another memory, and he mentally wrestled the control away from Vegeta as their surroundings changed._

_When Gohan opened his eyes again, they were no longer on a battlefield, much to his relief. They were now in the backyard of Capsule Corp. There were kids running everywhere, and it took a moment for Gohan to recognize what this was: Trunks' birthday party a few years ago. _

Alright, _the teenager thought to himself, nodding as he scanned for Vegeta. _I can talk to him here, without being in a fight or anything like that. I can convince him of what's going on, and we can both get out of here.

_Finally, he caught sight of Vegeta, lounging in a lawn chair and chugging a beer down. Without hesitating, Gohan strode over to him. The prince was subtly watching Yamcha and Bulma as they talked, barely able to keep the jealousy out of his features, before he looked up in surprise when Gohan came to stand right in front of him._

"_This isn't real, Vegeta," Gohan bluntly told him. "This is only a memory."_

_Vegeta blinked at the boy in surprise, before finally snorting. "Hn. Aren't you a little young to be drinking, kid?"_

"_I'm serious," Gohan pressed. "Remember, you were helping me deal with my Saiyan thirst to kill."_

_The prince raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you know about that?"_

"_I know, because you told me-"_

_Vegeta suddenly burst into loud laughter as he saw Krillin and 18 talking, "Look at them! They're so bizarre together. She's not even a real woman – she's an android! How do you even fuck an android? Does she need to be greased first? Baldy's into disgusting shit-"_

_Gohan stared at him in exasperation when he realized that Vegeta wasn't sober. "Vegeta, I'm trying to talk to you-"_

"_Bah. Get lost, kid-"_

"_We're stuck in Bulma's virtual reality simulator!" Gohan yelled at him. Everyone turned in surprise while Vegeta blinked up at him in confusion._

"_We're what?"_

"_This is a memory," Gohan told him, leaning down so he was almost in Vegeta's face. "Remember? Trunks is four, I have a little brother named Goten, you and Bulma are married, you were helping me get through my condition. I almost killed Trunks not too long ago. We sparred and I broke your ribs. You have to remember!"_

_Vegeta's head was spinning. He reached up and rubbed at his eyes. He suddenly felt extremely dizzy._

"_This isn't real," Gohan insisted. "Please, you need to see that-"_

_Gohan could practically feel Vegeta taking back control of the memories in that split second; he tried hard to keep control, but he was no match for the prince as their surroundings changed again. The blue sky was replaced with a green sky, and there was suddenly a strong smell of blood in the air. Gohan's stomach was tight with anxiety as he turned around and saw what he was dreading._

_Vegeta was in the dirt, a broken and bloodied mess. He was wheezing for air as his life slowly slipped away. Without any kind of warning, Gohan charged over, ignoring Piccolo's shout for him to come back. Goku was there, and he looked away from Vegeta and roughly grabbed Gohan by the arm before the boy could get closer._

"_Gohan, don't-"_

"_Let me go!" Gohan yelled, struggling mightily. But his father overwhelmed him in strength, and he couldn't break through his hold. Gohan struggled some more, before screaming in frustration, "I WON'T let him go through this again!"_

"_What?" Goku asked in surprise. "What do you mean, go through this again?"_

"_Dad, please, just trust me," Gohan pleaded, looking his father in the eye. "I _have _to help him!"_

"_Gohan…"_

"_Please!"_

_Goku stared at his only son, before slowly loosening his grip. Gohan looked at him with mixed emotions for a split second, before turning around and running over to Vegeta. He could hear Frieza mocking all of them in the background, but he didn't care about that as he knelt down next to the fallen prince._

"_Vegeta," Gohan said, putting a gentle hand on his armor. Vegeta focused on him with enormous difficulty, his eyes filled with pain and tears. "This isn't real. Remember Bulma and Trunks? You have to snap out of this so you can go back to them."_

_Bulma and Trunks…for a brief second, a mental image of him passionately kissing a beautiful woman flashed, followed by a mental image of him holding up an infant by the back of his pajamas as he examined the boy curiously. Vegeta slowly blinked, but all he could see now was his rival's son leaning over him._

_Seeing the flash of recognition on Vegeta's face gave Gohan a burst of hope. His words practically rushed out in one breath, "This is just a memory. We're stuck in Bulma's virtual reality simulator. All you have to do is say the words—Vegeta!" he yelled, shaking him by the armor when Vegeta's eyes rolled back. The prince snorted, bringing up one hand to Gohan's arm as his eyes slowly focused again. "This is just a memory. You're with Bulma now."_

"…_Bulma," Vegeta repeated weakly. _

"_Yeah," Gohan said, smiling a little in relief. "Just say the right words, and we're out of here."_

_Vegeta opened his mouth to do just that, if only to end the unbearable pain he was in, when Frieza fired a blast right at both of them._

_Gohan turned around, only to find that their surroundings had changed yet again. There was a blast of lethal ki, but it wasn't from Frieza. It was from Cell, and it was directed right towards Trunks._

_Gohan tackled the teenager down before he could be killed. Everyone looked at him in shock, except for Vegeta. The prince was doubled over, clutching his ribs and looking like he was moments away from collapsing. Gohan got up and immediately went over to him. He put a hand on Vegeta's back, and the prince sank to his knees immediately._

"_Gohan," he started, wincing as he reached up to his head with one hand. "This isn't…I'm not…"_

"_It's not real. I know," Gohan said, feeling his own head starting to hurt. "Say the words, and get us out of here."_

"_I don't think so," Cell taunted as he chuckled. "No one is getting out of here until I say so."_

_Gohan slowly turned to face Cell, his eyes darkening. He was well aware that this was only a memory, but that did nothing to stop his ki from surging. He had destroyed Cell before, and his body was suddenly aching to do so again. Ruthlessly and viciously this time. To a degree that he would never have to yearn for a kill again. This was his chance, here and now, to satisfy his blood lust on his own terms._

_Vegeta fell back as a pressure wave swept up around Gohan. He winced again, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the dirt blowing up around him. The boy's power was skyrocketing, and it left him completely in awe. Someone yelled out, and Vegeta looked over to make eye contact with his teenaged son. _

This isn't right, _the prince thought to himself in bewilderment. _This isn't right…

_Before he could make any sense of it, Gohan launched himself right at Cell, giving in to the overwhelming need in his blood. Vegeta watched the fight almost in a daze. Gohan was merciless and thriving as he landed one painful blow after the other. The prince looked over at his side when Trunks came up next to him._

"_Father, are you alright?" Trunks asked him worriedly._

_Vegeta looked at him, before putting a hand on his son's shoulder. He shook his head and withdrew his hand, bringing it up to his temple as he winced. "You're not real…this…Trunks, you died…"_

"_What? I didn't die," Trunks argued._

_Vegeta shoved his son away as he turned to Gohan and Cell. He looked just in time to see Gohan phase in right behind Cell, and brutally slam his fist right through his chest. Cell sank to his knees in complete shock. _

"_I should've taken care of you as soon as I had the chance," Gohan remarked from behind him. "Things would be so different if I had…"_

"_Gohan!" Vegeta yelled. The boy looked over at him, and finally saw the recognition he'd been looking for. The prince nodded to him, "Do it, kid."_

_Gohan didn't hesitate. He withdrew his fist and with his other hand, literally ripped Cell's head off right as Vegeta screamed, "System disengage!" _

_Just like that, their surroundings faded to black._


	9. After effects

Vegeta's eyes snapped open as he immediately sat up, startling everyone who was in the room. He backed up so he was sitting against the wall, his right hand automatically shooting out in front of him and glowing with bright blue ki in a defensive move ingrained in him since he was a boy. The machine that had been monitoring his heartbeat suddenly accelerated its beeping, but that came to a halt when he yanked everything off his chest with his free hand.

On the table next to him, Gohan squinted his eyes open. He tried raising his hand up to his head which was hurting, but he was still restrained. It took a moment to realize that he was back in Bulma's lab, before he suddenly became aware of Vegeta's power skyrocketing. He glanced over at the prince who looked visibly shaken as he scanned over everyone in the room.

"Vegeta, hon, it's okay. Just take it easy," Bulma calmly said, drawing Vegeta's attention as his hand shifted over so it was aimed right at her, his ki glowing brighter and deadlier. Yamcha instinctively went to step in, not liking the threatening gesture from Vegeta one bit, but Krillin roughly grabbed him by the arm before he could.

"Let Bulma handle it," Krillin whispered to his friend.

Yamcha protested, "But, he-"

"Do as he says," Piccolo growled.

The Namekian stole a quick glance over at Gohan. The kid was struggling against his restraints, but he couldn't break through them. Everyone in the room looked back at Vegeta, who had his left hand against his temple while he squinted at Bulma, as though trying to place her. His right hand was still outstretched in front of him, and he was still rapidly gathering up energy. Bulma hardly looked fazed over the display, but Krillin, Yamcha, and Piccolo were all tense. The only one who could stand up physically to Vegeta in the room was the boy who was still tied down.

"This isn't real," Vegeta mumbled, wincing as he spoke. He closed his eyes for a couple of seconds, slowly reopening them. He felt horribly dizzy, nauseous, and out of sorts. He vaguely recalled being in this room, but only with Gohan and Bulma. The others being there were making him wonder if he was still trapped in his own mind.

"It _is _real, Vegeta," Gohan spoke up. Vegeta very slowly turned his head to look at the teenager, squinting at him as he did. Gohan offered him a tired smile. "We got out. It's over."

Vegeta stared at him for a few more seconds, as Gohan nodded to him reassuringly. The prince frowned as his ki around his right hand dimmed a little. Bulma took a tentative step closer to him, and Vegeta immediately gave her his full attention, raising his ki again out of pure instincts as he kept his hand aimed at her.

"It's okay, it's just me," Bulma gently said, trying to ease the look of distrust that she hadn't seen Vegeta wear in years. He looked pale and sick, but she wasn't surprised. Mild dizziness was a common after-effect when using her simulator for only a few minutes – and he had been in there for much longer. She could tell by the way his eyes weren't fully focused that he was definitely feeling some effects. But her biggest concern at the moment was the hand glowing with lethal ki that was still aimed right at her. Not that it was the first time she'd been in this position with Vegeta, but it had certainly been a while…

Krillin had a tight grip on Yamcha's arm as Bulma slowly approached her husband. Meanwhile, Piccolo subtly moved around everyone so he was closer to Gohan. If Vegeta flipped, then he could release Gohan in a second so they could neutralize the situation before it got out of hand.

But then Piccolo felt Vegeta's power start to wane. When Bulma slowly reached around Vegeta's hand to grab his wrist, and the light surrounding the prince's hand disappeared upon contact, Piccolo finally relaxed. He crossed his arms, his expression not changing as he looked down at the teenage boy who was giving him a strained smile.

"Well, _you _certainly look better," Piccolo mused.

"I feel better," Gohan admitted, before glancing at his restraints. "Can you let me go?"

"You sure you can handle it?"

"Yeah, I can handle it."

Piccolo studied him closely, before nodding and finally taking his word for it. He started working on releasing the boy's restraints, and was quickly joined by Krillin. Yamcha scowled, giving Bulma and Vegeta one last lingering look before going to help his other friends. Deep down, he figured releasing Gohan was everyone's best bet. Just in case.

Bulma hardly noticed Yamcha's distrust of her husband though. Vegeta had finally extinguished his ki and allowed her to get closer to him, but his veins were visibly strained as she gently took his face in her hands. He barely focused on her before his eyes slowly shifted over to the others in the room as they worked on removing all of Gohan's restraints. There was something cold about the way he was looking at them, and it gave her chills.

"Vegeta, look at me," Bulma gently ordered, doing a fantastic job of sounding calm even though she was slightly worried. When he didn't respond to her, she sat down on the edge of the table he was sitting on and tried again, "Sweetheart, can you look at me, please?"

Vegeta could barely hear her. He was trying hard to make sense of why Gohan was restrained. He knew there was a reason, but he couldn't remember what it was. His memories were a mess, blurring together, and he was having enormous difficulty sorting through them.

"Vegeta-"

Bulma flinched when Vegeta's eyes shifted back to her right as he instinctively knocked her hands off him with one swipe of his arm, his lip curling in a threatening snarl as he did.

Everything after that happened in a blur that Bulma couldn't follow. All she knew was the end result: Vegeta had his forearm buried against Yamcha's throat, pinning the human against the wall after Yamcha made a move in Bulma's defense. The prince had his free hand curled into a dangerous fist that was pulled back, glowing with yellow ki, but Gohan had a tight grip on his wrist. The teenager's grip was literally the only reason Yamcha was still alive.

"It's alright, Vegeta," Gohan said good-naturedly, as though he hadn't just stopped Vegeta from killing Yamcha cold. He put his free hand on the prince's shoulder. "You don't feel good, right? I don't feel right either. Feels like we're still stuck in there, doesn't it?"

Vegeta didn't say anything, but the light started leaving his fist, much to Yamcha's relief. Gohan tightened his grip on the prince's shoulder, tugging him backwards a little as he did.

"Come on. If your head is hurting anything like mine, then you ought to go make sure that you can get some aspirin, before I take all of it," Gohan chuckled, even though he had a steel grip on Vegeta's shoulder as he continued pulling him back.

To his relief, he didn't meet much resistance as Vegeta released Yamcha, who instantly started coughing when he did. Vegeta slowly turned around so he was facing the teenager. Gohan calmly maintained eye contact with him, even though the prince looked like hell. Maybe he did too, Gohan silently wondered. He certainly felt like it.

Vegeta stared at him for a few seconds, before he reached up to rub his eyes as his dizziness washed over him again. He forced himself to get his thoughts in some kind of rational order, even though it made his head feel like it was going to explode. He hardly noticed Bulma moving behind him and helping Yamcha up, all the while chastising him for being an idiot.

Finally, after a tense silence, Vegeta remarked, "You were dealing with your Saiyan thirst."

"Yeah," Gohan nodded. "But it feels better now. After…well, you know."

"So it worked."

"I think so."

Vegeta lowered his hand. He and Gohan stared at each other for a short while, before Gohan finally smiled. The prince offered a curt nod, before turning away. He casually rested a few fingers on the table where he had been laying on, making it look like it was a trivial act. The truth was, he felt like he needed to touch something that was stationary in an effort to stop his dizziness. Gohan patted him on the shoulder. Vegeta growled at the contact, but the teenager had already turned away.

"Come on guys, let's step outside. I could use some fresh air," Gohan said, unable to keep his fatigue out of his voice. He was mentally and physically drained, but still, he wanted some fresh air right now more than anything. It would help him regain his bearings. It hadn't been easy on him either, not by a long shot. Piccolo nodded, and followed closely after his former pupil. Krillin glanced back and forth between them and Bulma, Vegeta, and Yamcha, and quickly decided to follow Gohan and Piccolo out.

Yamcha was standing now, rubbing his throat and glaring at Vegeta, but the Saiyan wasn't paying him any attention. Bulma looked pointedly at her ex and motioned with her head for him to go along with the others. Yamcha frowned at her, and she mouthed _please. _When he stubbornly stole a distrustful look at Vegeta, Bulma sighed loudly in exasperation.

"Yamcha," she said in warning. Yamcha's nose twitched a little, but he knew that tone, and so he reluctantly did as she wanted.

As soon as they were alone, Vegeta sank to his knees, his façade of strength vanishing now that the other warriors were all gone. He shifted over so he was sitting as Bulma squatted down next to him.

"I'm fine," he immediately told her as she put a hand against his forehead.

Bulma sighed when she felt the cold sweat on his skin. She shook her head, "I _told_ you I needed more tests. But do you ever listen to me? Nooo." Vegeta snorted as she forced him to look at her. She studied his eyes in concern as she continued, "That's the last time I let you have your way."

"Don't lie. This was your elaborate plan to kill me, wasn't it? Shame it didn't work, woman. I'm still alive, though you won't be, as soon as this blasted headache passes."

Bulma smiled when she saw that his disorientation had passed for the most part, before hugging him tightly. She kissed him gently on his temple. "I missed you so much."

The prince scowled in mild confusion. "How long was I out?"

"Three days."

Vegeta's eyes widened in surprise. Three whole days? Damn. She really _had_ almost killed him. He snorted a little at the irony; the most dangerous person to him was his own wife. Who would have thought?

"Least it worked. Kid seems better," he mumbled, closing his eyes when the room started spinning.

"Yeah. I think so. Gohan volunteered to go back in and get you out of there." Vegeta said nothing to that. In response to his silence, Bulma playfully suggested, "Maybe you can thank him when you both feel better. If, you know, it doesn't kill you on the spot to do so."

"Hn. Never."

She rolled her eyes, "Of course not."

He grumbled a little under his breath over being married to a woman who had the technical ability to do this to him physically, but otherwise didn't complain when Bulma helped him stand. Tomorrow he would be angry over his own weakness, but right now, he sucked it up and accepted her help. Though not too much of it. Just a little bit of contact on his arm to help him stay oriented while he walked.

Of course, Vegeta never did tell her that he had already thanked Gohan telepathically before the boy left, and that the boy had returned the sentiment.

After all, some things were just best kept between Saiyans.

* * *

Gohan couldn't keep the grin off his face the next day if he tried.

He felt good. Not great - if he made certain motions too fast, his head would start to hurt. But compared to before, he felt like a million bucks. He would take the annoying motion-induced headaches over the piercing pains in his temple he had felt before. It was certainly a step up.

The best part was that he had ventured actually having breakfast with Bulma that morning, and it hadn't been too bad. Granted, after about thirty minutes, he had needed to excuse himself. But an hour of training in Vegeta's gravity room followed by another hour of sparring intensely with Piccolo, and everything was right with the world again. He finally had himself under control.

It was good timing, since Chi-Chi arrived later that day with Trunks and Goten in tow. Goten wasted no time at all as he tracked Gohan down. He immediately leapt up and dove right into his brother's chest, nearly knocking Gohan right off his feet.

"Whoa! Easy there," Gohan laughed, caught off guard by the strength in his little brother. "I missed you too."

"Gohan, are you coming home?" Goten shouted as he dropped down. "Please, please, please come home-"

"I will, soon," Gohan chuckled, ruffling his brother's hair. "I promise."

"Yay!"

"I second that sentiment," Chi-Chi said, making Gohan look over as his mother approached him. He gave her a sheepish smile, scratching his head a little. "You're feeling better, I see."

"A little bit," he admitted, before opening his arms to her.

"Well, good, because I have all this food at home and I don't know what to do with it. You know I don't eat such an insane amount of food like you Saiyans," Chi-Chi jokingly told him, as she came up to him and hugged him.

"Great, because my appetite is back. Heck, I'm starving right now," Gohan laughed.

Chi-Chi pulled away from her oldest son, and after a moment of looking him over, she said, "You know, Gohan. I've been thinking about what you said about Goku…"

Gohan's smile disappeared at that. He lowered his arms, looking down at Goten who had moved to stand next to him while he hugged their mother. Gohan ruffled his brother's hair again, shrugging a little. "Aw, don't worry about what I said. It's not important."

"Goten, why don't you go find Trunks?" Chi-Chi said, getting a pout from her little boy. "Bulma told me that his grandparents got him a new game for his Wii… "

"Oh wow!" Goten yelled, before running off to go see what this new game was.

Gohan and Chi-Chi watched him run back inside the compound, before the teenager crossed his arms defensively over his chest as his mother turned to look at him.

"Mom, I know. Dad did what he did for the good of the Earth, and I shouldn't be mad about it. I know," Gohan sighed.

"But you _are _mad," Chi-Chi noted. Gohan shrugged a little, looking away. "It's okay if you are. I won't be mad if you admit it. I was upset too."

He looked back at her, trying hard not to show his confusion. "But you're not anymore? Even though he left us?"

"I'm not mad at him, just like I'm not mad at you."

"Me? What did I do?" Gohan asked, blinking a little as he tried thinking about what might have made his mother mad. Aside from completely ignoring his studies recently and a few blowups with his temper a month or two ago, he was drawing a blank.

"Well, you _did _just take a huge risk to help Vegeta. You know that you might not have woken up from that, right? I was waiting all night for Bulma to call me and tell me that. But that didn't stop you from going ahead with it anyways, no matter what it did to me or your brother, one way or the other."

"I…" Gohan was at a loss for words. He shook his head, "That wasn't…that wasn't the same thing…"

"Wasn't it?" Chi-Chi asked knowingly. "You know, no one can fill your father's void. But no one can fill yours either, especially with Goten." Gohan rubbed at the back of his neck a little as she continued, "I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, Gohan. You did what you thought was best. Goku did too. You just have to accept that. It's just who he is."

They made eye contact for a little bit, before Gohan finally nodded his understanding. Chi-Chi smiled. "Good. Now, for the rest of the time that you're here, I brought you something."

It was only then that the teenager realized that his mother was carrying his backpack. He groaned a little as she removed it, his shoulders slumping. "Mom…"

"No, Gohan, I don't want to hear it," Chi-Chi cut him off, putting the bag right against his chest. "You've fallen behind enough as it is. I brought all your textbooks, so you better start getting to work. You might be half-Saiyan and might be into saving the world or whatever, but you are still going to get your education! Am I clear?"

Gohan felt like he was Goten's age as he swallowed and nodded, clutching his bookbag to his chest.

"Good," Chi-Chi said in satisfaction, her voice going back to normal. "Now, you just let me know when you're coming back home so I can prepare a nice dinner."

"Alright," he relented, before following his mother into the compound. Goten was sitting crosslegged in front of the TV, as Chi-Chi immediately made a beeline over to see what he was watching. Gohan meanwhile went up to the spare bedroom he was staying in, to put his books away, when his sensitive hearing picked up on Bulma whispering down the hall.

"…baby, you can't right now," the heiress was saying as Gohan looked over to see her and Trunks standing outside of her bedroom that she shared with Vegeta.

"But why?" Trunks whined.

"Because his head is hurting, so he's resting. I know you want to see him, but you can see him tomorrow-"

They both looked over when the door opened. Gohan couldn't see Vegeta, but he could barely make out his rough voice grumbling something. He didn't hear what he said, but Bulma rolled her eyes as Trunks brightened. The little boy didn't hesitate as he immediately shot into the room with his father. Gohan smiled a little, before turning away and going over to his room.

At the end of the day, it had been worth the risk.

* * *

Vegeta had given in and spent a little time with his son for the boy's peace of mind, but he had only lasted about twenty minutes with Trunks before he sent the boy away. A few hours later, and his head was hurting worse than it had all day. He didn't regret talking to Trunks, but he did regret not cutting it shorter; the boy's excitement and high-pitched voice were too much for him to handle at the moment.

He hadn't felt this bad in a long time. Bulma told him the headaches and dizziness would pass in a day or two, and so there was little he could do except ride it out. Stubbornly though, the prince had tried to suck it up and return to his usual daily routine, disregarding his wife's orders to stay in bed as he woke up bright and early for some training. Unfortunately, he hadn't even made it to the stairs before the nausea and dizziness overwhelmed him and he vomited right where he was. He _could_ have called for Bulma at that point, but he didn't want to hear her bitching at him for not listening to her. Out of sheer pride, he forced himself to retrieve a cleaning bot to get rid of the evidence, before he crawled back into bed in defeat. At least, Bulma hadn't woken up, so she never had to know.

Still, he wasn't in a good mood later that evening. He was lying in bed on his stomach, a pillow covering his head as he tried to sleep. The room was dark as Bulma blocked out all the light since it made him feel worse, but he still felt like hell. Vegeta scowled against his mattress when he heard the door open.

"Hey, Vegeta," Gohan quietly said, poking his head in. "How you doing?"

All he got for a response was Vegeta's middle finger. The teenager chuckled a little.

"Not so good, huh? Guess I'll come back later?"

"What the hell do you want, boy?" Vegeta growled from under his pillow. He usually wasn't at all comfortable with anyone outside of Bulma seeing him with his defenses down, but he had dealt with enough of Gohan's shit for the last month or so to care right now.

"Just wanted to talk to you for a bit."

Vegeta took a deep breath, before slowly rolling over so he was on his back. He moved his pillow so it was covering his face, draping one arm over it. Gohan waited for him to say something, but when Vegeta didn't, he figured that the lack of a dismissal meant his presence was tolerated for now.

The teenager quietly walked in and closed the door behind him. He went over to the bed and took a seat on the floor, so his back was against the frame. Gohan cradled his chin in his hand as he stared at the door. Their sudden role reversal here wasn't lost on Gohan, but he wisely didn't comment on it. They stayed in silence that way, both of them much more comfortable not actually looking at each other.

"I've been having bad dreams about what I saw the first time, when I was living through your memories," Gohan finally admitted. "It was kind of intense…"

"Hn."

"Not that I regret it. I don't," Gohan amended. "It was really helpful. But I've been wanting to ask you. Was it supposed to feel that way?"

"What way?"

"It was like…it felt…"

"Good?"

Gohan stayed silent, though his face was reddening in shame. It _had _felt good, and he wasn't comfortable with that one bit.

"Of course it felt good. You're part Saiyan. It's what you needed," Vegeta mumbled, his voice muffled by his pillow. "It doesn't make you evil like me, kid, unless you plan on slaughtering more now."

"No!" Gohan immediately responded as he shook his head. Vegeta winced, but the boy didn't notice as he continued, "No. I won't. Not ever. It's not me, you know."

"Hn."

"And you're not evil, not anymore," Gohan said, stretching his legs out in front of him. After a moment of silence, he added, "Nappa and Raditz both cared about you, huh?"

"Of course. Without me, they were dead," Vegeta bitterly amended.

"Nah. They really cared." Gohan paused as he organized his thoughts a little, before asking, "Vegeta, can I ask you something?"

"No."

"What was my uncle like?"

"Why? He's dead," was the blunt reply.

"I don't know. I'm just curious, that's all."

The prince sighed against his pillow. He didn't know why he bothered answering, but figured that maybe part of him was glad the kid had returned the favor and helped him. There weren't that many who would bother helping him out, much less take on the risk Gohan had. If all the boy wanted in return was the answer to some questions, then he could humor him. For now, anyways.

After a moment of thought, Vegeta finally replied, "He was weak. Short-tempered. Foolish. Had no strategy in battle."

"Nothing good?"

"None of us were _good, _boy," the prince sneered.

"Oh."

"But," Vegeta added a few moments later, "He was loyal. They both were."

"Because they were your friends."

"Because it was their duty. Nothing more."

"It doesn't have to be mutually exclusive."

"Friends are for the weak."

"Aren't we friends?"

There was a muffled snort of pure disdain. "No, we are not _friends_. You stole my Dragon Ball on Namek, you broke my ribs, you almost killed my son, you made me become trapped inside of my own memories for days, and then you stopped me from killing that scarfaced idiot when it would have been excusable to do so."

"Well, I think of you as my friend anyways, Vegeta," Gohan admitted, looking over his shoulder towards the prince.

"…I should've killed all of you when I had the chance long ago…" Vegeta mumbled under his breath, slowly turning onto his side, facing the opposite direction of Gohan. He waved a weak hand up. "Get out, and leave me in peace, boy."

"Alright," Gohan relented as he slowly got up to his feet. He put the handcuffs Bulma had given him on the nightstand. "I don't need these anymore. I've got it mostly under control now."

"Hn."

"Thanks again, Vegeta. I really appreciate the help."

"Oh, you'll repay me for all of this, I guarantee you," the prince growled. As soon as the effects of being in the simulator passed, he was going to have himself a regular sparring partner for the next month or two. It was the least the boy could do.

Gohan wasn't quite sure he liked the sound of that, but he shrugged anyways. "Whatever you say. Feel better, alright?"

Vegeta said nothing. He had maxed out his speaking for the evening. He kept silent as Gohan left and closed the door quietly behind him, before he sighed. He managed to track Gohan's ki for about a minute as the boy went outside to meet up with Piccolo, who was still hanging around to make sure all was well. Vegeta would never admit it under the worst torture imaginable, but he was extremely grateful that the Namekian was still lurking near the compound. Not that he didn't trust Gohan, but it gave him that extra ounce of reassurance that his wife and son were safe so he could rest easily.

The next thing he was aware of was a soft hand against his forehead hours later, before moving to the side of his neck. He frowned and weakly swatted the hand away.

"Get away from me, you demon wench, before you try to kill me again," he growled.

"Oh, stop being so dramatic. Your temperature's already going back to normal. See? Pretty soon, you won't have to try hiding cleaning bots from me anymore."

Vegeta's frown deepened as he turned away from his wife while he grumbled, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bulma chuckled. "Sure you don't. So did you talk to Gohan?"

"You sent him?"

"Yes and no. He wanted to talk to you, so I told him to see if you were up for it."

"… You really _are_ trying to kill me."

"You did talk to him then," Bulma smiled.

"The boy thinks we're friends," he grumbled. He would've rolled his eyes if it didn't bring his dizziness back. "He'll be lucky if I don't kill him within the next few days."

"I think the only one who's lucky in that regard is Yamcha."

"Hn."

"You know that he's not going to come by for at least another month now, right?"

Vegeta pulled his pillow over his head and proceeded to ignore her completely, until she finally got the hint and left him alone. When he felt Bulma leave the room again, he removed the pillow as a smirk spread over his face. At least a month, she had said.

Well, at least _something_ good came out of this whole thing.

* * *

**1 more chap left. :O :) almost there.**


	10. Back to normal

Gohan stared at the daunting pile of books in front of him. He cringed as he flipped through the first textbook, looking over all of the advanced scientific diagrams and equations. His mom had brought the books over for him several weeks ago, and he had told her he was diligently studying every night. That wasn't _exactly _true, but it would be true soon. He was going to move out of Capsule Corp later that day, and it was only a matter of time before his studies became his top priority again.

The teenager sighed and closed the textbook, shoving it away on the desk Bulma had put in his room. He leaned back in his chair, looking out through the window when he suddenly heard his brother and Trunks' high-pitched voices in the backyard. Almost immediately, Vegeta's rough voice barked over them, and then there was silence. Gohan curiously peeked out, seeing Vegeta standing out back with Goten and Trunks both sitting in the grass in front of him, listening to every word the prince was saying as though it was gospel.

Gohan frowned and looked away. A month had now passed since both of his excursions through Vegeta's mind, and it had only taken days for Vegeta to shake off the effects. Not so much for Gohan, though. He was "repaying" Vegeta by having spars with the prince every day, which were more intense than they had ever been. But the spars weren't the problem. His body craved the fighting, and with Vegeta's help, he was slowly learning to control the lingering bloodlust he still felt now that it wasn't crippling in need. If anything, it was all making him much stronger than before. No, the problem wasn't physical anymore.

The problem was that he couldn't forget the things he'd seen. Even when he didn't consciously think about it during the day, his dreams would bring it all back at night. Gohan stared down at the cover of one of his books, unconsciously tapping his desk with a pencil. He thought about making an attempt at studying a little before his mom came to pick him and Goten up, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, he sighed and got up, deciding to step out and maybe get some fresh air.

Goten and Trunks were now standing, squared up a few feet away from each other in battle stances. Vegeta was slowly circling them, paying close attention to their form and balance, but moreso to Trunks. When he finally gave a subtle nod, the two boys launched into each other and started their fight under the close watch of the prince. Vegeta crossed his arms as he followed the moves of each boy, and that was how Gohan found them when he finally stepped outside. The teenager came over to stand next to Vegeta, crossing his arms as well.

Gohan cocked his head to one side when he saw Goten just barely block a kick aimed for his chest. Trunks was relentless in his attacks, and it showed that he was hands down the more advanced fighter of the two, even though they were both raw. Still, Gohan couldn't help but marvel at the speed of the little boys.

"Man," Gohan finally said, "They sure are fast for their age."

"Hn. That speed might be acceptable for your brother, but Trunks can do better," Vegeta scoffed.

"I dunno, Vegeta. I sure wasn't moving like _that _when I was four years old," Gohan noted, gesturing to Trunks who finally landed a punch into Goten's face, ending the fight. Goten cried out, staggering backwards and sitting down on the grass.

"OUCH! TRUNKS!" Goten wailed, covering his nose as his eyes watered. "We said NO hard hits!"

"Sorry, Goten," Trunks offered, though there was a satisfied smirk creeping over his face and the smallest hint of insincerity in his voice. It was just a small fight in the backyard of his home, but winning any fight in front of Vegeta filled him with a pride deeper than the little boy could ever articulate.

Trunks looked back at his father, searching his features for approval or pride, or just a sign that he was pleased, but Vegeta's hard scowl hadn't changed. Trunks' smirk wavered, and as he turned back towards Goten, it was replaced with a look of disappointment. He was only four years old, but he already knew that when it came to fighting, he would likely never impress his father.

Trunks came up to Goten and offered him his hand. Goten sniffed, and then took it as Trunks helped him stand.

"Sorry," Trunks said again, patting his best friend on the back. This time, he meant it.

"Trunks," Vegeta barked, getting his son's attention. "Tell your mother to ice the boy's face before his harpy mother sees him later. And after dinner, you and I are going to work on fixing your sloppy technique. Now get lost, both of you."

Gohan was the only one who noticed the way Trunks winced and his shoulders dropped. The teenager raised an eyebrow, but Goten barreled past Trunks, and just like that, both boys raced into the compound. Gohan glanced back at Vegeta, who was already heading off towards the gravity chamber.

"Hey, Vegeta, wait up," Gohan called out, jogging after the prince. "Hey, don't you think you're being kinda hard on Trunks? He's doing pretty well-"

"Don't tell me how to train my own son," Vegeta dangerously cut in, warning in his eyes as he shot a glare at Gohan.

"No, no," Gohan defensively said, waving his hands a bit. "I'm not trying to tell you how to train him, I'm just saying-"

"Trunks is spoiled by his mother and his grandparents. If anything, I am too lenient on him. He lacks discipline," Vegeta growled.

"I don't think-"

"What time are you leaving again?"

"Oh, um…my mom said she'd be by around four with my grandpa, so they can put my things in the car."

"Good. So why don't you worry about preparing your things for _that_, instead of trying to analyze the relationship I have with my son? When I want your _expert _opinion, I'll fucking ask for it."

"Alright," Gohan relented, recognizing the threat weaving between Vegeta's words. The only one who could continue an argument with Vegeta when his voice was like that without fear of bodily harm was Bulma. Gohan's respect for the genius heiress had definitely risen quite a bit over his time at Capsule Corp, that was for sure. He decided to drop the subject, silently following Vegeta into the gravity room.

"What should we engage it at today?" Vegeta asked, scanning over the control panel. Gohan had learned quickly that it didn't matter what he suggested. Vegeta would use that number as a minimum, and always go over it. The teenager frowned, and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm not really up for sparring again, to be honest," Gohan admitted. Vegeta looked over his shoulder at him, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, we've been doing it every day, Vegeta."

"I know. I've _been _there every day," Vegeta sneered sarcastically. "You know that it's what you need, boy."

"Yeah, I know," Gohan sighed, burying his hands into the pockets of his pants. "But I'm just kinda tired of it. It doesn't hurt to take a break every now and then, right?"

"It doesn't _hurt_ when one isn't resisting primal urges to slaughter innocents," the prince said, articulating his words slowly like Gohan was stupid.

"I don't know, I've been feeling pretty good lately. I mean, I was going to stop sparring and training eventually, so might as well start slowing it down a bit, so I get used to it," the teenager responded with an indifferent shrug.

Vegeta turned around, facing Gohan directly. The prince could barely stand the anger rising in his chest, even as he tried keeping it in check. He himself would kill in a heartbeat for the power dormant inside of Gohan, that enormous power that was beyond anything he had ever imagined possible. He clenched his hands into tight fists, trying to control his temper, but it always struck a nerve thinking how dismissive Gohan was of his strength.

"You are at your physical peak, Gohan," Vegeta slowly explained. "You have to continue training _now, _while your body is changing. You can become more powerful than you've ever been, but you have to harness that power."

"I know, but I mean, there's really no point," Gohan said, shrugging again. "We're at peace, and there's no threat to the Earth. I can control my power now and I think that's enough for me. Besides, I'm really behind on my schoolwork," he added, frowning in worry over the amount of work he'd be catching up on soon.

Vegeta stared at him for a few seconds, before sighing in defeat. He couldn't force Gohan to train or spar regularly once the boy moved back home. But while he certainly didn't approve, he did understand. Gohan had practically grown up being pulled into epic battles left and right. Where Vegeta was from, that was a way of life, but the prince now recognized just how different a lifestyle Gohan had from other human boys his age. For better or worse, Gohan was just as much one of them as he was a Saiyan. If he wanted to try living more of a "normal human life" without constant fighting, that was his decision to make.

"Fine," Vegeta finally spit out, turning around in irritation. He surveyed the gravity settings again. "Then if you don't want to spar, get out and stop wasting my time. Some of us around here do care about getting stronger."

"Well, I was wondering if we could talk…"

Vegeta rotated his head to crack his neck, so he wouldn't punch the control panel in frustration. "About?" he grit out.

"Just some effects I'm having from, well, you know, what we went through. I wanted to see if you-"

"Hold on," Vegeta interrupted.

Without another word, he walked past Gohan out of the gravity room. The teenager blinked a few times in surprise, watching as Vegeta disappeared into the compound. Finally, Gohan shrugged, figuring that maybe the prince had sensed something amiss with Trunks or Goten. He leaned back against the wall and waited, but he wasn't alone long. Soon, Vegeta was walking back in, and this time, he was carrying two bottles of beer. Gohan had barely looked over at him, when he quickly had to get a hand up to catch a thrown bottle at him.

"Vegeta…" Gohan warily said, eyeing the cold bottle in his hand. "I can't drink this. I'm too young."

"You saved this goddamned planet, kid. I think you can have one drink without anyone bitching at you about it," Vegeta scoffed, ripping off the top of his own beer bottle. "Besides, I need a drink before one of these conversations you always start up with me. Don't worry. I won't tell your banshee mother."

_A horrible influence. _Chi-Chi's words regarding Vegeta had never been clearer in Gohan's mind. Still, he was a fourteen-year-old boy, and his curiosity got the best of him. After all, who knew when he would have a similar opportunity? Gohan slowly removed the bottle top, and then ventured a sniff. He then ventured a tiny taste, and he cringed in disgust.

"Oh man, that's _awful_," Gohan grimaced. "It's so bitter."

"Apologies. Next time, I'll bring a tall glass of chocolate milk for you," Vegeta sneered, rolling his eyes before chugging down almost half of his beer in one shot, much to Gohan's disgust.

"Well, anyways, I wanted to talk to you about what we went through," Gohan finally started. He slid down so he was sitting, and rested the beer bottle on the floor next to him.

"Out with it then," Vegeta ordered, casually leaning back against the panel. "What are these effects you're dealing with?"

"Nothing physical," Gohan sighed, pulling in his legs so he was crosslegged. "In fact, I'm fine, except for when I'm sleeping. I keep having these nightmares, seeing things all over again."

"Not unusual for what you experienced. They'll go away."

"Are you going through the same thing?"

Vegeta didn't immediately answer, instead choosing to take another swig of his beer. He was still trying to get over the trip through his memories – memories he wanted to forget. Gohan might've thought it was effortless, but it wasn't. The physical after effects hadn't lasted long, but he too, was suffering from intense nightmares. It had gotten to the point where he had slept in a guest room alone for a couple of weeks, because he woke up so disoriented and on edge, that he almost killed Bulma one night in cold blood. Even the handcuffs to drain his power hadn't helped – he still wound up on top of her, with his hand around his wife's throat in a fit of madness, before she got him to snap out of it.

Vegeta turned away, giving Gohan his back. He frowned at the memory, deep down questioning his own sanity. He and Bulma over the last week had shared the same bed again per her request, confirming his belief that she was, at the very least, as crazy as him.

"Something like that," he finally answered, raising his bottle up and chugging down the rest of his beer.

"But it's weird for me, because I keep seeing you doing other things that I never saw you do. I don't know if they're real memories, or if my mind is just making things up now. But I don't like it," Gohan quietly admitted.

"Like what?" Vegeta asked. He turned back a little and gestured towards Gohan's beer bottle. The teenager grabbed it, and threw it back at the prince, too fast for a drop to spill. Vegeta caught it effortlessly and turned away again.

"Well…like a couple weeks ago, for example. I had a dream that you and Nappa were trying to get answers from this alien couple, and that you…um, set them on fire…" Cracks spread on the beer bottle in Vegeta's hand, as Gohan scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he continued, "And then, Nappa doused them with water before they died, so you could do it all over again-"

"When did you see this?" Vegeta roughly interrupted.

"Man, I don't remember exactly, but I keep seeing things like that at night."

"Every night?"

"No, but about every other night. Though, it was a lot better when you weren't sleeping in your room. I don't really know why though."

Vegeta seemed to visibly relax at that, but when he turned around to face Gohan, he had a serious look in his eyes. They both stared at each other in uncomfortable silence, before Vegeta walked over towards the door. Gohan was already getting up before Vegeta even gave his order.

"Follow me. We'll see what the woman has to say about this."

They both easily pinpointed where Bulma was as soon as they walked back into the compound. It wasn't hard when they heard something shattering to pieces upstairs, and then heard Bulma shrieking-

"I said, NO PLAYING SOCCER INSIDE THE HOUSE! BOTH OF YOU ARE GOING TO GET IT IF YOU DON'T START LISTENING!"

There was immediate silence, which made Gohan chuckle.

"They're a handful, huh?"

Vegeta grunted, rolling his eyes as they made their way upstairs. "And they actually fear her more than me, so what does that tell you?"

"Really?" Gohan laughed.

"Yes. Apparently the threat of a spanking from a human woman strikes more fear than the threat of being blasted to bits from a Saiyan. Don't ask me why."

"So long as something works, right?"

"Hn. If all else fails, two fast executions is always an option," Vegeta grumbled, walking past his son's room without looking in. Gohan glanced in though, and both boys were sitting down, quietly playing video games. Goten looked over his shoulder and gave his brother a huge grin and a wave, and Gohan waved back before following after Vegeta.

Bulma was sitting up in bed in her room, feverishly typing away on her laptop when Vegeta and Gohan walked in. She shot them a quick glance, without slowing down her typing.

"Hey guys, I ordered catering for lunch, it'll be here in about an hour," she informed them, biting her bottom lip as she scrolled through some emails. "I just have to get back to a few suppliers, and then I'll see where they are if you guys are already hungry-"

"Woman, I think this boy is having the same nightmares that I am ever since we used the simulator together," Vegeta bluntly interrupted.

Bulma immediately looked up in surprise at her husband, before looking over at Gohan, who almost looked embarrassed. She closed her laptop and set it aside so she could stand up.

"What? Are you sure?"

"Fairly. He told me some things that I dreamed about, and it can't be a coincidence." Gohan cringed a little at the thought that his nightmare had been a flashback of real violence Vegeta had waged once upon a time. He snuck the prince a glance, but Vegeta wasn't looking at him as he growled, "I'm sick of this boy being in my mind. Do something about it."

"Just give me a second!" Bulma told him in exasperation, digging for paper and something to write with on her nightstand. "It's probably just a lingering effect of the telepathy, but I need to know more to be sure. Gohan, do you remember what you've seen and on what nights?"

"Um, just a few things…"

A few minutes later, Gohan was sitting down on the edge of the bed with Bulma, while Vegeta leaned back against the wall. The prince remained silent, listening as Gohan tried remembering specific things, and cross-checking the information against his own recollections. It was disturbing that they were sharing his nightmares. No one had the right to visit _those _memories without his permission.

"Wait a second," Bulma interrupted her note-taking. "When Vegeta was sleeping in the guest room, you hardly saw anything?"

"Yeah, it was definitely the best sleep I've had since we used your simulator."

"Oh, well there you go then," Bulma brightly said. "Vegeta was staying in the guest room at the end of the hall. He was sleeping further away from you and things got better for you, even though nothing changed for him. And since you're not dealing with this every night, I'm sure it'll all go away once you go home. Just call me tomorrow if it doesn't, and we'll figure something out. Okay, kiddo?" she asked, giving Gohan a side hug.

"Sure thing," Gohan said, blinking in surprise. Bulma released him and then grabbed her laptop, opening it back up again.

"That's it?" Vegeta demanded angrily. "Just, let's wait and see what happens?"

"Well yeah, I mean, it is a little unexpected, but your minds are still very receptive to each other based on what you went through. Just you sleeping further away helped Gohan out a lot. With a little more time and with him at home, it should be alright."

Grumbling curses under his breath and looking none too pleased, Vegeta stalked out of the bedroom without another word to either of them.

"Do you think he's mad at me?" Gohan wondered aloud.

"Who knows," Bulma sighed. "Don't worry though, he'll get over it. What about you? Do you want to talk about these thing you've seen? It sounds awful."

"Yeah, it was pretty bad, but it's okay," Gohan answered with a shrug.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I mean, I just had to see it. I didn't have to live through it."

Bulma nodded, patting him on the back. "Well, regardless, it'll go away soon so don't worry. Now, are you hungry? Should I call up the people that are bringing lunch and see if they can come a little faster?" When she saw his half-smile in return, she smiled back. "Silly question, huh? Why don't you go downstairs and I'll see what I can do."

A phone call and a nice, promised tip later, and they were all sitting down for lunch about twenty minutes later. It was a nice, typical lunch, but Gohan picked up a few plates worth of food and politely excused himself after about fifteen minutes. He was fine when he was with one or two people, but he was still working up to four people. As soon as he felt the stirrings of those dark urges again, he simply removed himself, and they went away. He was getting better day by day, but he certainly didn't want to push or chance anything. Especially when Vegeta or Piccolo weren't going to be shadowing him anymore.

He was sitting alone, on the front steps of Capsule Corp, when an annoyed Vegeta stepped out right behind him, holding plates of food in his hands. Gohan looked over his shoulder in surprise, and then moved over. The prince sat down next to him, grumbling under his breath as he did.

"Bulma force you to come out here?" Gohan curiously inquired.

"Hn. That female doesn't force me to do a damn thing," Vegeta growled. Gohan shrugged, and looked down at the plate of food in his lap, picking absent-mindedly at it with a fork. He did that for a while, before awkwardly clearing his throat.

"You're not mad at me, are you?" he warily asked.

Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "Why would I be?"

"I know you're tired of me being in your mind-"

"You're not doing it on purpose," Vegeta responded. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the teenager sitting next to him. "Right?"

"No, I'm definitely not doing it on purpose. I thought maybe that they were just things my mind had made up…not things that actually happened," Gohan said, looking back down at his plate.

"Don't tell me you've been so easily traumatized, boy," Vegeta scoffed in disgust.

"No, no, I'm alright. It's only the lack of sleep that bothers me, that's all…"

"You sound like your idiot father when you try to lie."

"The dreams are just kinda intense," Gohan admitted. "I've never seen that kind of violence before. But I guess that was a Saiyan thing, huh?"

Vegeta considered his words for a moment, before picking up his own fork. He dug into the barbecue his wife ordered, and shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. He ate thoughtfully for about a minute, his eyebrows drawn together.

"Saiyans were violent, yes," Vegeta finally relented, surprising Gohan. "But that was because we loved to fight. For the thrill, the competition, the love of it. What you saw, had nothing to do with that. That violence was Frieza's doing. It had nothing to do with being a Saiyan."

Gohan nodded in understanding. "I'm glad Trunks finally got him."

"Hn." Vegeta couldn't help the smirk that crept over his face at the thought. Better Trunks than Kakarot, that was for sure.

"And I'm really glad that you're not like that anymore."

"Oh? And who says I'm not?" Vegeta asked, his smirk turning sinister. When Gohan blinked at him in disbelief, Vegeta laughed out loud, and looked back down at his plate, picking up his fork again. "Always prepare for the inevitable, kid. Yet another reason you should keep up your training after you go home. Times of peace don't last."

"I gotta catch up on school work first, that's the most important thing. I've fallen really behind. Maybe once I'm good with that, I'll make time for some training."

"_Sure_ you will."

"I will, you'll see. Do you think we can have one more spar before I go back home?"

"Are you that eager to get your ass kicked before your harpy mother sees you?"

Gohan smirked a little, "I've been on a winning streak lately, haven't I? Three in a row?"

"Hn. Pure luck," Vegeta grumbled, angrily digging his fork into his food. "After I eat, I'll teach you a thing or two, half-breed."

"We'll see about that, Vegeta."

It was true, that by the point system they used, Gohan had won the last few spars. But it had more to do with them stopping the spars when Gohan happened to be ahead. The two were fairly matched, something that was obvious when they finally started another spar almost an hour later. Vegeta landed the first punch, instantly drawing blood which gave him a point. When Gohan went on the offensive after that and forced the prince to ascend first, he evened the score.

_Maybe I _will _keep up with my training, _Gohan briefly thought, right in the heat of the fight with Vegeta as he blocked a kick aimed at his head. But this spar was fun only because it was just that- a harmless spar with no one's life in the balance. He hoped he wouldn't have to fight one of _those _fights ever again-

In his distraction, Gohan never saw that hard right hook coming. It landed square into his jaw, and the next thing he knew, he was flat on his back, in a daze. He blinked up at Vegeta, who was leaning over him and wearing a triumphant smirk.

"Knock out. Instant win," Vegeta announced smugly. "Next time you spar with me, perhaps you'll give me your full attention."

"No kidding," Gohan mumbled, slowly sitting up.

"Your mother is here anyways. So get up and get your shit together, so you can all leave," Vegeta ordered as he walked away. Gohan winced as he rubbed the side of his jaw, before he sighed. Not how he envisioned leaving, but it was time to head back home.

Vegeta did his best to steer clear of everyone downstairs as Gohan showed what was inside his capsules Bulma had given him, so Chi-Chi could make sure he had all of his things. He was fully intending on staying out of sight and out of mind, even taking a slow shower so Chi-Chi and her sons would be gone when he was done. His plan probably would have worked, if Bulma hadn't sniffed it out.

"Vegeta, Gohan is going to leave. Hurry up so you can come down and say goodbye!" Bulma yelled over the running water of his shower.

He growled at her faded outline in irritation. "And what makes you think I care enough to say goodbye to that boy? Good riddance, I say."

"Vegeta, he's been spending practically every day with you! It won't bruise your ego if you just say goodbye, so hurry up!"

With that, Bulma walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Vegeta scoffed; that woman had another thing coming if she thought he was always going to bend to her will. He then picked up a fresh bar of soap. He had already scrubbed down, twice, but since he could still sense Chi-Chi, Gohan, and Goten on the premises, he started to scrub down a third time.

That is, until the water in his shower suddenly went from hot to freezing cold.

"Yes, Mom, I have the capsule with my textbooks. It's right here," Gohan said for what must have been the third time. He strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes, making an effort to keep himself in check as he showed the capsule to Chi-Chi. Behind them, Goten was sitting in the driver's seat of his mother's vehicle, pretending he was driving and having the time of his life.

"Good. You better hold onto that, mister, because you are going to study as soon as we get home," Chi-Chi sternly told him. Gohan cringed, and then looked down when he felt a tugging on his hand.

"Are you gonna come visit? Huh? Are you?" Trunks asked, gripping Gohan's hand tightly.

"Yeah, for sure, I'll definitely try," Gohan kindly answered, before looking up as a freshly showered but angry-looking Vegeta practically stormed out of the compound. The prince made his way directly over to Bulma, and if Gohan hadn't known any better, he would've thought that Bulma was about to be killed in cold blood.

Instead, the heiress just laughed at whatever Vegeta snarled in her ear. This only seemed to piss Vegeta off more, before she visibly drew his attention to Gohan. He grumbled some obscenities, and then motioned for Gohan to follow him as he stalked away from everyone.

"GOTEN! What did you do?" Chi-Chi shrieked as Goten impishly held up the steering wheel in his hands.

"Oops!" Goten laughed.

Gohan wisely took the distraction and walked off after Vegeta, away from his mother who was yelling at his brother. When they had walked almost to the edge of the premises, Vegeta turned to face him.

"Remember what I showed you, boy, about how you can control yourself," Vegeta instructed. "Don't push too much. Ease back into things. Don't give your mother shit because I'm going to get blamed. Don't kill your brother. Don't-"

"I know, I know."

"Hn." Vegeta hesitated a second, before digging into his pocket. He pulled out a bottle of pills, and handed it to the teenager in front of him. "The woman gave me these for when I'm having too hard a time getting sleep. I've only used them once. You can have the rest."

"Are you sure? Don't you need them?"

"I can deal with the dreams better than you. This is just in case things don't improve on your end."

Gohan looked at Vegeta for a few seconds, before breaking into a bright smile. He regarded the prince with a mixture of admiration and respect. "Thanks. For everything. I appreciate all of it, Vegeta. You're a real lifesaver."

Vegeta looked uncomfortable as he scanned their surroundings, looking everywhere except at Gohan as he grumbled, "Yes, fine, but your harpy mother is waiting so hurry up and go over there."

"Right," Gohan turned away, and Vegeta slowly followed him back over to where everyone was.

"There," Bulma brightly said, emerging from Chi-Chi's car. "The steering wheel is good as new."

"Thanks, Bulma," Chi-Chi gratefully replied, glancing at the backseat where Goten was secured in a car seat designed by Bulma to withstand his strength. "They're such a handful."

"I know," Bulma laughed as Gohan came up to them. The teenager blinked as he was swept up into a tight hug. "Don't be a stranger!" Bulma told him.

"I won't," Gohan said, hugging Bulma back. "Thanks for everything."

"You bet."

With that, she let him go. He got into the car, and they all waved to each other as Vegeta came up next to Bulma. He crossed his arms as they watched them drive away, and then Trunks promptly whined, "When is Goten coming back?"

"Never," Vegeta answered, earning a hard elbow to his ribs from Bulma, which hurt her more than him.

"Maybe in a few days, sweetie," Bulma told the little boy, gently ushering him inside. "Now go get washed up. It's almost time for dinner, so you better be nice and clean."

Vegeta stayed where he was as Bulma led Trunks back inside. He rubbed at his temple, hoping that things would be back to normal now. Or as close as possible to normal. He didn't realize he was still standing in the same spot ten minutes later, lost in his pessimistic thoughts of how everything could still turn out wrong, until Bulma hugged him from behind.

She rested her chin on his shoulder. "You okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've been spending a lot of time with Gohan."

Vegeta snorted in disgust at what she was insinuating. "I don't care that he's gone, you foolish woman. I just hope that he's in control."

"He seemed in control. You have to give him the benefit of the doubt, Vegeta. He's an impressive kid."

"Hn."

"You did a great job, just like I knew you would," she whispered in his ear.

"I suppose I did," Vegeta drawled, his tone changing to one that Bulma recognized all too well. She could practically hear the smirk in his voice as he added, "Hell, I probably saved the whole damn planet from Gohan going on a rampage. I wonder what reward I should receive?"

"Hm, I don't know, my prince," Bulma innocently responded, letting one hand playfully drift down his chest to his lower stomach. "We'll just have to see what I can think of later tonight."

"After all the shit I've been through, it better be good," he said as he turned around, pulling her close to him.

"When isn't it?" Bulma breathlessly asked against his lips.

He smirked, but before he could respond, they both smelled it. Fire. From the kitchen. Vegeta and Bulma both looked over in surprise and sure enough, there was smoke as the alarms started going off. A split second later, Trunks was barreling out of the compound, screaming at the top of his lungs, "I DIDN'T DO IT!"

Back to normal, indeed.

**The End**

* * *

Thanks guys for the support and patience with this story. I started having massive writer's block with this story after, oh, chapter 2, lol. Your support definitely pulled me through it. Thanks again! :)


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